Jim Trippon CPA

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), the world's largest consumer products maker, may not be full of surprises, but predictability can be a beautiful thing, particularly when it comes to dividends. Plenty of pundits had been forecasting P&G, the maker of Duracell batteries and Tide detergent, would raise its dividend when it reported first-quarter earnings on April 29th, but the company boosted its payout early. On Monday, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 9.5%.

That follows a 10% increase in 2009 and the new dividend will be 48 cents a share, up from 44 cents. The new dividend will be paid on or after May 17th to shareholders of record on April 30th. The yield on the Dow component's shares would be about 3% when factoring in the new dividend. That's an increase of 0.2% from the current yield.

P&G, which also makes Bounty paper towels and Pampers diapers, among hundreds of other products, is one of the market's elite names when it comes dependable dividend increases. The latest increase marks the 54th straight year the company has hiked its payout. Ohio-based P&G was founded in 1890 and has paid a dividend EVERY year since then. Another consistent dividend raiser that could be in line for an increase as soon as Tuesday is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). April is usually when JNJ raises its dividend.