These tech giants offer sustainable dividends

Article Excerpt

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $133 (New York symbol IBM; Conservative Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 908.8 million; Market cap: $120.9 billion; Dividend yield: 4.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries. Starting with the June 2018 payment, IBM raised its quarterly dividend by 4.7%, to $1.57 a share from $1.50. The new annual rate of $6.28 yields a high 4.7%. The company has paid dividends continuously since 1916 and has raised the annual rate each year for the past 24 years. In October 2018, IBM agreed to acquire Red Hat Inc. (New York symbol RHT) for $34 billion. That makes it the biggest acquisition in the company’s 108-year history. Red Hat is a leading developer of software for cloud-based computing systems, which let users access files and programs stored on remote servers over the Internet. Its programs use the open-source Linux operating system. That lets Red Hat adapt…