NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices announced today that dividend net increases (increases less decreases) rose $12.0 billion during the fourth quarter of 2014 for U.S. domestic common stock, down from the $12.7 billion increase seen in the fourth quarter of 2013 – equating to a 5.6% year-over-year decrease. For the full year 2014, dividend increases were a tick down, falling 0.2% to $54.8 billion, compared to an increase of $54.9 billion in 2013.

According to S&P Dow Jones Indices, 971 dividend increases were reported during the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the 885 increases which were reported during the fourth quarter of 2013.  For all of 2014, 3308 issues increased their payments, up 14.3% from the 2895 issues that increased their payments during 2013.

Of the approximately 10,000 U.S. traded issues, 67 companies decreased dividends (defined as either a decrease or suspension) in Q4 2014 compared to 65 in Q3 2014 and 51 in Q4 2013. For 2014, 291 companies decreased their dividend payments compared to 299 decreases in 2013.

"Overall, this is the fourth year that we've seen double digit increases in cash dividends with companies increasing cash payments by $197 billion over the 4 years," says Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.  

The percentage of non-S&P 500 domestic common issues (ASE, NYSE, NASD) paying a dividend was up strongly to 48.5% in Q4 2014 from 47.2% in Q3 and 47.7% that paid in Q4 2013. The weighted dividend yield decreased to 2.45% at the end of Q4 2014 from 2.50% at the end Q3, and was a tick higher than the 2.44% at the end of Q4 2013.

Large-, Mid-, and Small-Cap Dividends
Within the large-cap S&P 500^®, 423 issues (84.3%) currently pay a dividend. All 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average^® pay a dividend. Silverblatt found that 68.0% and 52.7% of issues within the S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600, respectively, pay dividends, both up from 67.5% and 51.2% which paid at the end of Q3, which was up from their Q2 levels of 66.8% and 50.2%. 

Silverblatt pointed to the net gain of 15 payers over the past six months in the S&P SmallCap 600 as an area to watch in 2015 for potential increases, as small-cap issues for the most part outperformed the market in the fourth quarter after underperforming during the first three quarters of 2014.

Yields were 3 and 4 basis points lower for the large- and mid-caps, but were 17 points lower for the small-caps, where the higher quarterly return pushed yields lower, even as more issues paid.

Sectors
On a sector basis, using the S&P 1500 as the benchmark for U.S. domestic common issues, Silverblatt noted that 1,012 issues now pay regular cash dividends up from 1,000 in Q3 2014 and 990 at the end of Q2 2014. Nine Financial sector issues increased in Q4, after four issues increased during Q3. As a result, 91.2% of the issues in the Financials sector paid a cash dividend, up from 89.9% in the third quarter. Issues paying a dividend in the Information Technology sector increased to 40.1% from 38.6% in Q3, but remain the sector with the lowest percentage of issues paying. The dividend yields for paying issues were the highest for Telecommunication sector issues, averaging 5.19% on a weighted basis (as the sector under performed in 2014), and the lowest for Consumer Discretionary sector issues at 1.82%.

2015
"2015 should easily set another record for cash dividend payments," says Silverblatt.  "A word of caution: while the dollar aggregate of dividend cuts were flat for the fourth quarter, over half the cuts came from energy issues. Lower oil prices and oil price uncertainty, both of which hurt energy stocks over the past six-months and devastated many small-cap energy issues, have spilled over to the dividend world.  This is not the financial dividend meltdown of 2008 and 2009, but energy does account for over 11% of dividends in the general market. If lower oil prices cut into earnings and cash-flow, dividends could eventually be hurt."

To download the S&P Indices Dividend Report, please visit www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500 and click on "S&P 500 Monthly Dividend Report" from the "Additional Info" drop down box.

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit www.spdji.com.

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices