On a slow day in terms of economic reports, investors have certainly received a good bit of news from individual companies to keep themselves busy today. And despite any macro stimulant, as of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) is still up 68 points, or 0.45%, and sits at 15,293. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) is higher by 0.61%, while the NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) is up more than 0.5% also today. There are currently only a handful of losers within the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI), but a number of big winners. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) are up 2.21% this morning, and with that increase, the stock has now set a new 52-week high. The networking and communications device company announced yesterday that it would be teaming up with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to help accelerate its deployment of private and hybrid cloud infrastructure. Additionally, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has recently made a number of acquisitions over the past few months to help increase its product offerings, and while these moves may not be showing up in the stock price today, they should help push it higher in the coming years.
Another Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) component moving higher is The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which has seen shares climb by 1.22% after the company announced its next quarterly dividend of $0.6015. The amount is the same as the last quarterly payment and will be payable on or after Aug.15, 2013, to shareholders on record as of July 19, 2013. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has paid a dividend for the past 123 consecutive years and has increased it once a year for the past 57 years. Today’s dividend announcement continues that amazing tradition of returning value back to its shareholders, a quality that has made The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) such a beloved stock among dividend investors.
Big news outside the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) came from The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), which made an offer to buy smaller grocery store chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI). As my colleague Dan Caplinger pointed out earlier today, the deal is a little odd since The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) only offered a 2% premium to what Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) was trading for yesterday. But shares of both companies are higher on the news: The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is up 2.65% while Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (NYSE:HTSI) has risen 1.44%. If The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) can get the smaller chain for its offer price, I believe this would be a big win for the company and position it to better compete with the likes of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) while proving its dominance over Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY).
The article Markets Move Higher Despite Little Economic Data originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Matt Thalman.
Fool contributor Matt Thalman owns shares of Microsoft. Check back Monday through Friday as Matt explains what caused the Dow’s winners and losers of the day, and every Saturday for a weekly recap. Follow Matt on Twitter @mthalman5513. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems, Procter & Gamble, and Whole Foods Market. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and Whole Foods Market.
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