If you are looking for technology stocks to quench your thirst for stable and possibly increasing streams of dividend income, you’ve arrived at the right article. Tech stocks are innately aggressive and volatile, hence, the dividends they pay act as an important buffer. I have compiled some technology stocks that are currently hot that have remarkably grown their dividend payments in recent years. These are International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI), Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX), and Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL). Most of these have managed to grow their dividend payments at double-digit rates, have positive earnings surprises, positive revenue growth, and double-digit profit margins. Read on to see for yourself.
Sources: nasdaq.com and finviz.com; Data retrieved March 8, 2013
International Business Machines
IBM has grown its dividend payments at an average annual rate of 14.81% within the last 3 years. Even if IBM won’t be able to continue this high rate of growth in the future, the current payout, at $3.30 per share in 2012, is enough to attract dividend-seeking investors. Its payout ratio based on cash flow is at a sustainable level of 19%. IBM has a very low P/E ratio at 14.46 with a forward ratio of 11.29. Despite a lack of growth in revenue during the recent quarter, its profit margin has been improving. From 18.62% in December 2011, the rate has gone to around 20% in December 2012, which is why it has surpassed earnings expectations in the latest quarter. IBM’s main growth source is its software business, as it was the case for over 10 years now. IBM reported that its main growth drivers in 2013 would still be from those new systems it had established in 2012. These are the outcomes of a string of acquisitions it has successfully nailed in 2012 where the company spent $3.7 billion. Among these acquisitions are Varicent Software, Worklight, Vivisimo, Kenexa, and Tealeaf Technologies. Analysts estimate IBM’s EPS to grow at about 10% every year in the next 5 years.
Source: nasdaq.com
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is quite new in paying dividends but its performance has been impressive so far. And judging by its growth prospects and current trend, the company is an emerging top dividend generator. It has almost tripled its payment from a mere 6 cents in the first quarter of 2011 to 14 cents in 2012’s last quarter. Cisco’s low P/E ratio of 12.48 shows a relatively attractive stock price despite the record highs that it is enjoying.
Cisco has a decent growth estimate of 8.4% annually for the next 5 years. Furthermore, it has witnessed an outstanding improvement in its profit margin from 18.93% at the end of Jan. 2012 to 25.98% in the same period this year. Although the growth may be quite tame at less than 5%, these fundamentals should be enough to lure investors to its side. It has beaten earnings estimates at least in the past 4 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) sits on a huge amount of free cash flow, $2.32 billion in quarter ending Jan. 31. While the market seems to be less optimistic about Cisco at present, as shown by its low P/E ratio, now is the best time to make the first move before everybody else finally gets the idea.
Source: nasdaq.com
