Dividend Changes to Know Now: Yum! Brands, Covidien plc, Ingredion

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) raises quarterly dividend 30% to 26c from 20c per share. The dividend is payable on October 25 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 3.

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Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM): Yum! Brands raises quarterly dividend 18% to 33.5c from 28.5c per share. The dividend will be effective with the payment to be distributed on November 2 to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 12. This increase raises the annual dividend rate to $1.34 a share. David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, said, “I am pleased to inform our shareholders we increased our dividend by 18%, marking the eighth consecutive year we have raised our dividend at a double-digit percentage rate. Our quarterly dividend has more than doubled over the last five years.”

Covidien plc (NYSE:COV): Covidien raises quarterly dividend 16% to 26c from 22.5c. The company said, “This increase reflects our good performance to date in 2012, our commitment to enhance shareholder value and the Board’s confidence in our future growth prospects.” At the new rate, the annual dividend is $1.04 per ordinary share compared to the previous rate of 90c per ordinary share. The next quarterly dividend is payable on November 5, to shareholders of record on October 11.

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