Time to bring  back one of our favorite article series! We are passionate dividend growth investors that love investing in dividend stocks that announce dividend increases. April is going to be a HUGE month of dividend increases. We will feature some of our FAVORITE dividend growth stocks. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss upcoming dividend increases in April 2023. Get ready. Get excited. Let’s see if YOUR income is going to grow in the coming month.

Why Dividend Increases Matter

Dividends are the foundation of our goal to reach financial freedom. We continuously invest in dividend growth stocks to grow our passive income. If you haven’t figured it out by now, we eat, sleep, and breathe dividends! In 2023, with high inflation, bank runs and other major events, buying undervalued dividend stocks that increase your dividend is as crucial as ever.

Read: 5 Reasons WHY Dividend Investing is the EASIEST Form of Passive Income

Earn WELL OVER 4% by Maximizing  Your Cash

That is why dividend growth is a major deciding factor in all of our stock purchase decisions. It is the 3rd metric of our Dividend Stock Screener for a reason. For each stock, we review a company’s history of increasing dividends (consecutive annual dividend increases) and a company’s five-year average dividend growth rate!

We cover dividend news extensively on our Youtube Channel. Each week, we discuss the major dividend increases from the week before. Clearly, as you all are learning, we are passionate about dividend and dividend growth!

Upcoming Dividend Increases In April 2023

Dividend Stock #1:  Procter & Gamble (PG): Let’s start this upcoming dividend party off with one of the GOATs. Procter & Gamble is one of our Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stocks. We both own this company and love having it in our portfolio.  PG has increased its dividend for 66 years and you better believe it is going to be 67 dividend increases come April 2023.  The question is…how much will inflation impact the company’s dividend growth. Costs have increased, but so have prices. Is it still possible PG shocks us with a strong dividend increase? I’m not overly optimistic, but we will see!

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 66+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 5%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.78%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: Middle of Month

Which is your favorite of our Top 5 Foundation stocks: $JNJ$PG$MCD$ED$PEP

Thoughts 👇

— Dividend Diplomats (@DvdndDiplomats) April 1, 2023

Dividend Stock #2:  Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): What’s that? ANOTHER Top 5 Foundation Dividend stock of ours is about to announce a dividend increase? Now we are about to party in April. JNJ is one of my favorite dividend stocks for a reason. My wife and I each grew our JNJ position to 100 shares each over the last few years. We couldn’t be happier to own such a large stake; even if the price has declined in 2023.  The company has been crushed due to potential litigation and performance. Still, we fully expect the company to announce a dividend increase once again in April. The amount will probably be lower than its average, however, due to the headwinds the company faces ahead of its upcoming spin-off towards the end of the  year.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 60+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 6.6%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 6.11%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: Middle of Month

Dividend Stock #3:  International Business Machines (IBM): Lanny and I both own one of the most recent entrants into the Dividend Aristocrat fan club. A Dividend Aristocrat is a company that has increased its dividend fro 25+ consecutive years. IBM’s dividend growth over the last few years has been dismal. Actually, it has been pathetic.  Surely IBM can beat 2022’s .6% dividend increase, right? I sure hope so. IBM has increased its quarterly dividend $.01 per share each quarter the last few years. IBM would win some hearts over with a surprise increase that is higher! At least the company has a 5%+ dividend yield to compensate.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 25+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: .6%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 2.86%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Dividend Stock #4:  Apple (AAPL): How about talking about a $2.6 TRILLION market cap stock that is about to increase its dividend. We couldn’t ignore Apple and is sub 1% dividend yield on this list. Apple isn’t known for its dividend yield or dividend growth.  The company could pay a large dividend at the snap of the finger; however, they choose to keep a large cash war chest, invest in new technologies, and remain flexible for different opportunities that may present itself. We own Apple indirectly through various mutual funds or ETFs; therefore, we’re excited to see if Apple can deliver strong results to us and plenty of other shareholders!

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 9+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 4.5%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 7.87%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Dividend Stock #5:  Kinder Morgan (KMI): OIL TIME! Kinder Morgan is set to increase its dividend once again in April. The road back to dividend growth has been a long one for KMI after the dividend cut over a half decade ago. Since then, KMI has cleaned up its balance sheet, focused, and created a balanced plan of a solid dividend yield (6%+ today) and strong dividend growth.  You can tell the company has matured based on last year’s dividend growth. Rather than stick to the company’s planned 10% annual dividend increases. The company prudently reduced its dividend increase to only 2.7% while the price per barrel of oil remained volatile. No one loves low dividend growth; however, in that instance, I was okay with it. They should return to stronger dividend growth in 2023 like many of the other large oil stocks.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 9+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 2.7%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 17.29%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Dividend Stock #6:  W.W. Grainger (GWW): No idea why. However, my gut feeling is telling me that Grainger is set to announce an insane  dividend increase this year.  Grainger is destroying the stock market performance this year too. The stock is up 23% at the time we are writing this article. The stock’s yield has dropped down to just 1% after the stock price appreciation. Hilariously, the stock is now trading near $700 per share. That’s why I’m expecting at least a double-digit percent increase for Grainger. If that happens, I know Lanny will be doing some back flips.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 51+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 6.1%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 6.09%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Dividend Stock #7:  Costco (COST):  Costco is less than a decade away from becoming a Dividend Aristocrat. It was surprising to see that the company has increased its dividend for 18+ consecutive years. Despite record inflation, consumers are still spending money hand over fist in Costco. Whenever we go, the parking lot and store is filled with loaded shopping carts with consumers that are eager to save a few dollar by buying in bulk. The company delivers great value to shoppers too, with low cost gas and other products.  That is why I’m expecting a dividend increase in line with the company’s five-year average dividend growth rate.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 18+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 13.9%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 12.47%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: Middle of Month

Dividend Stock #8:  Discover Financial Services (DFS):  This will be  a fascinating dividend increase, in my opinion. With the banking crisis and a potential recession looming, Discover’s dividend increase at the end of the month will tell us a lot about where one of the largest credit card companies expects the economy to go in 2023. If the increase is small, the company is clearly expecting poor loan performance and a need to hoard capital. Keep a close eye on Discover to see if it will set the tone for subsequent upcoming dividend increases.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 12+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 20%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 12.2%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Dividend Stock #9:  Sysco Corporation (SYY).  Everyone has driven by Sysco’s trucks. The big, silver semi truck trailers that deliver food across the company. Sysco is not sexy; however, the company delivers reliable, solid dividend increases to shareholders.  With high inflation, I’d expect a dividend increase closer to 2022 than  the company’s five-year average dividend growth rate.

• • • Consecutive Dividend Increases: 46+ years
    • 2022 Dividend Increase: 4.3%
    • 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 7.52%
    • Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of Month

Summary – Upcoming Dividend Increases

There we have it. 9 big time upcoming dividend increases in April 2023. We have some of the dividend increase GOATs and some other large tech companies set to growth their dividend.  We are pumped up to see what this month brings us and if these companies can deliver better than anticipated dividend increases. 2023 has been a wild year. Who knows what April will bring? Regardless, buckle up and get ready for an exciting ride!

How many dividend increases are you expecting in April 2023? How many of the 9 featured dividend stocks do you own? What other stocks are expected to grow your income that were not featured today?

Bert