Dividend Aristocrats Still Raising Their Payouts No Matter What Their Stock Price Did

Over the past year, Target shares rose 81.23% to $155.99, while Kimberly-Clark fell 19.16% to $94.36; Consolidated Edison and Medtronic ended between those moves—but all four companies still increased their dividends, a focus for income investors. Target raised its quarterly payout 1.8% to $1.16 per share, with the next payment due Dec. 1 to holders of record Nov. 11. The article cites ample earnings coverage: trailing diluted EPS of $9.64 versus an annual dividend of $4.56, and second-quarter operating income up 94.4%. It also notes risks from a one-time $1.65 per share tariff refund benefit and underlying two-year sales growth around 2.1%. Kimberly-Clark lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.28 and claims 54 consecutive annual increases.