Exxon Is Now The Top Dividend Payer

Exxon is raising its quarterly dividend by 21 percent. In doing so, it becomes the top corporate dividend payer, surpassing AT&T. The Irving, Texas, oil giant raised the payout to 57 cents from 47 cents in the first quarter. That brings its annual dividend to $2.28 per share. The increase is the largest of any quarter-on-quarter rise since the current dividend practice began in 1975.

Exxon Mobil Corp. will now pay its shareholders $10.75 billion in dividends per year, according to Standard & Poor's, up from $9 billion. AT&T Inc. is second at $10.44 billion. Apple Inc., which restored its dividend in March, is next at $9.88 billion. The move raises the company's dividend yield to 2.6 percent. The yield measures annual payouts to shareholders against a company's stock price. By comparison, Apple's dividend yield is 1.8 percent. AT&T's is a hefty 5.5 percent.

Source: Associated Press

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