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Dividend increases are the name of the game. 2022 is shaping up much like 2021. Dividend growth stocks continue to announce strong dividend increases and help us grow our dividend income. The bottom line is this. We LOVE dividend increases and are always watching the newswire for dividend increase announcements. Therefore, typically, each month, we write an article summarizing the dividend increases that are expected during the month. Today’s article features 8 dividend increases expected in April 2022.

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!

If the goal is to produce a passive income stream that will one day cover our expenses, making sure that income stream GROWS is critical. Without growth, your dividend income stream will lose purchasing power to inflation. In 2022, with sky-high inflation, building a GROWING passive income stream is as important as ever. Some months, inflation has been as high as 8%. Imagine how much you would lose if your income was sitting in a savings account earning 0% – 1% (at best)?

Expected Dividend Increases in April 2022

After taking a couple of months off with our monthly series, WE ARE BACK. This section is going to summarize 8 expected dividend increases in April 2022. Get ready, everyone…because this month is going to feature some big-time dividend stocks. We may even be so bold as to say that April 2022 is one of the best months of dividend increases during the year.

Dividend Stock #1: Procter & Gamble (PG) – Let’s start this party off with one of the greatest consumer staple stocks. This company is an epic dividend growth stock. Look around your house. Chances are, you’ll find Procter & Gamble products everywhere. Some of the major brands include Bounty, Cascade, Charmin, Tide, Oral-B, Dawn, Brawn, Febreze, Head & Sholders. The company is a Dividend King for a reason and has increased its Dividend through good times and bad. Last year’s 10% dividend increase was a great surprise. Let’s see if they can have a repeat performance in 2022.

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 68 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 10%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.40%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: Middle of the Month

Dividend Stock #2: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – We all know about my love for Johnson & Johnson. My wife and I have been buying 1 share of this Dividend King every week for the last year. We are amassing quite the position, and I couldn’t be happier that we selected this dividend stock for this strategy. This dividend increase announcement should be interesting, especially since JNJ announced its upcoming spin-off of its consumer staple brand portfolio. Will strong dividend growth continue after the spin-off? Hopefully, they will follow Pfizer’s lead and announce a spin-off and a hidden dividend increase at the same time (since they didn’t decrease their Dividend after the spin-off).

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 59 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 5%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.79%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Dividend Stock #3: International Business Machines (IBM) – IBM is a legacy tech company that brings out the emotions of investors. After years of dividend growth but slumping revenue, many shareholders are frustrated with the tech giant. At least they pay a high dividend yield, right? It will be interesting to see what IBM does in 2022. After the Kyndryl spin-off, will IBM announce strong dividend growth? Or will their pattern of low dividend growth continue?

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 25 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: .6%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 3.25%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Dividend Stock #4: W.W. Grainger (GWW) – Grainger. Grainger. Garinger. One of Lanny’s favorite dividend holdings… for good reason. Grainger dominates a high barrier to enter industry and has demonstrated strong dividend growth lately. It is one of the stocks I would have purchased several years ago, and I am still kicking myself about it to this day.

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 50 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 5.90%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.84%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Dividend Stock #5: Apple (AAPL) – Apple’s earnings releases, financial results, investor days, and dividend increases are closely monitored by institutional investors, analysts, individuals, and so many others. The company is insanely large and has a significant cash balance. How is the company going to depoly their cash war chest? That’s the billion dollar question. Ideally, that money will go back to shareholders! However, I’m sure a huge chunk will go to product development and expanding the company’s TV offerings.

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 9 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 7.3%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 9.14%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Dividend Stock #6: Kinder Morgan (KMI) –  Ah, Kinder Morgan. It looks like it is that time of the year once again. Kinder Morgan is set to continue their return to dividend growth journey after slashing their Dividend several years ago. Since the dreaded dividend cut, KMI has paid down its debt, improved its cash flow, and started increasing its Dividend several years ago. Last year, the company prudently slashed its ambitious dividend growth plans to account for lower oil prices and falling demand. 2022 is a much different oil environment though. Will the company annoucne a strong dividend increase after the price per barrell has sky-rocketed to start the year?

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 4 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 2.9%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 18.57%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Dividend Stock #7: Costco (COST) – Last year, Costco blew away dividend growth investors by announcing both a 12.9% dividend increase AND a $10 per share special dividend. Both announcements came within a span of a few months. This is an off cycle year for Costco’s special dividend announcements. Thus, I am not expecting a double banger this year. Instead, I am expecting strong dividend growth from one of America’s favorite, and largest, warehouse stores.

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 17 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 12.9%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 11.91%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: Middle of the Month

Dividend Stock #8: Southern Company (SO) – Lastly, lets end on a boring note. Boring because utility stocks are not flashy. However, they are a critical party of your dividend stock strategy. We both own many utility stocks. While we don’t own Southern Company, we are excited to see the impact this dividend increase will have across the community!

• Consecutive Dividend Increases: 19 years
• 2021 Dividend Increase: 3.1%
• 5-Yr Average Dividend Growth Rate: 3.34%
• Expected Timing of Dividend Announcement: End of the Month

Summary

There we have it. 8 strong dividend increases that are expected in April 2022. From this list, I own 4 companies: PG, JNJ, IBM, and KMI. You bet that I am going to be watching the news closely to see how much my dividend income growns from the 4 holdings. Hopefully, 2022 exceeds 2021 expectations and we are celebrating stronger than expected dividend increases. Time to see our passive income grow!

How many increases are you expecting in April 2022? How many from this list do you own? What are your expectations for IBM and Apple? Do you think PG or JNJ are going to flex their muscles and knock a dividend increase out of the park?