The Dynamic Dividend

McDonald’s Raises Dividend for 35th Consecutive Year

McDonald’s (MCD) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share after today’s closing bell, which is 14.8% better than the $0.61 paid each of the previous four quarters by the fast food giant. This marks the 35th consecutive year McDonald’s has given its shareholders a raise.

This is also the biggest dividend hike from McDonald’s since a 33% boost in 2008.

Earlier this month I noted that investors waiting for McDonald’s stock to dip a little further so they could lock in a 3% yield shouldn’t wait to pull the trigger, because this hike would almost definitely push their yield-on-cost over that threshold. That turned out to be true, and then some.

Shares of MCD closed Thursday’s session trading at $85.99, where they now feature a 3.26% dividend yield. The stock was paying just 2.84% when today’s closing bell rang.