Aiming For Royal Returns

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One of Standard & Poor's favored investing approaches is to buy stocks of companies that regularly increase their dividends.



This way, as you hold the shares, your returns will grow, and the yield on your initial investments should continue to climb (see BW Online, 2/28/05, Bowing to "Dividend Aristocrats").



Investors should remember that about 40% of the total return over the history of the S&P 500-stock index was due to dividends and their reinvestment.



With that in mind, here's S&P's list of "dividend aristocrats" -- companies that have regularly upped their dividends for 25 or more consecutive years. The table also includes the dates of recent dividend boosts for stocks on the list.



As companies announce dividend changes during the year, please check back with us for future updates.



S&P DIVIDEND ARISTOCRATSCOMPANYTICKERRATE ($) (6-30-05)YIELD (%) (5-31-05)ACTION IN 2005ACTION IN 2004











3M CoMMM1.682.3Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Abbott LaboratoriesABT1.102.2Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











ALLTEL CorpAT1.522.4Increased in October











Altria GroupMO2.924.5Increased in August











AmSouth BancorpASO1.003.8Increased in October











Anheuser-Busch CosBUD0.982.1Increased in July











Archer-Daniels-MidlandADM0.341.6Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Automatic Data ProcADP0.621.5Increased in November











Avery Dennison CorpAVY1.522.9Increased in October











Bank of AmericaBAC2.004.4Increased in JuneIncreased in June











Bard (C.R.)BCR0.520.8Increaded in JuneIncreased in July











Becton, DickinsonBDX0.721.4Increased in November











CenturyTel IncCTL0.240.7Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Chubb CorpCB1.722.0Increased in MarchIncreased in March











Clorox CoCLX1.122.0Increased in November











Coca-Cola CoKO1.122.7Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Comerica IncCMA2.203.8Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January











ConAgra FoodsCAG1.094.7Increased in September











Consolidated EdisonED2.284.9Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January











Donnelley(R.R.)& SonsRRD1.043.0Increased in July







Dover CorpDOV0.641.8Increased in August











Emerson ElectricEMR1.662.7Increased in November











Family Dollar StoresFDO0.381.5Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January











First Horizon NatlFHN1.724.1Increased in October











Gannett CoGCI1.081.5Increased in August











Genl ElectricGE0.882.5Increased in December











Grainger (W.W.)GWW0.961.8Increased in AprilIncreased in April











Jefferson-PilotJP1.673.3Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Johnson & JohnsonJNJ1.322.0Increased in AprilIncreased in April











Johnson ControlsJCI1.001.8Increased in November











KeyCorpKEY1.303.9Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January











Kimberly-ClarkKMB1.802.9Increased in January and December











Leggett & PlattLEG0.642.4Increased in MayIncreased in August











Lilly (Eli)LLY1.522.7Increased in December











Lowe's CosLOW0.240.4Increased in MayIncreased in May











May Dept StoresMAY0.982.4Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











McDonald's CorpMCD0.552.0Increased in September











McGraw-Hill CompaniesMHP0.661.5Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January











Merck & CoMRK1.524.9Increased in July











Nucor CorpNUE0.601.3Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February and September











PepsiCo IncPEP1.041.9Increased in MayIncreased in March











Pfizer, IncPFE0.762.8Increased in December











PPG IndusPPG1.883.0Increased in AprilIncreased in April











Procter & GamblePG1.122.1Increased in AprilIncreased in March











Progressive Corp,OhioPGR0.120.1Increased in August











Regions FinancialRF1.364.0Increased in JanuaryIncreased in January and April











Rohm & HaasROH1.162.5Increased in MayIncreased in May











Sherwin-WilliamsSHW0.821.7Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Sigma-AldrichSIAL0.761.4Increased in FebruaryIncreased in February











Stanley WorksSWK1.122.5Increased in July











State Street CorpSTT0.721.5Increased in JuneIncreased in June and December











Supervalu IncSVU0.652.0Increased in JuneIncreased in August











Target CorpTGT0.400.7Increased in JuneIncreased in June











U.S. BancorpUSB1.204.1Increased in December











VF CorpVFC1.081.9Increased in October











Wal-Mart StoresWMT0.601.2Increased in MarchIncreased in March











Walgreen CoWAG0.210.5Increased in July