The following nine Minnesota companies have conservative payout ratios and a history of at least 25 years of consistently increasing dividends. Dividend yield is annual dividends per share as a percentage of the share price. Payout ratio is the percentage of the firm's earnings that are paid to shareholders as dividends.
Stable Minnesota dividend payers
July 16, 2011 at 7:58PM
CompanyQuarterly dividendDividend yieldPayout ratioYears of increasing dividendsYTD total return
(cents per share)
3M .552.3%36.7 %53 years12.3%
Donaldson Co. Inc. .15.82%22.2% 25 years2.5%
H.B. Fuller .751.3%19.4%42 years21.8%
Hormel Foods .131.6%28.3%45 years17.1%
Medtronic .242.2%31.3%34 years3.3%
Pentair .202.0%38.0%35 years13.2%
Target .302.0%22.6%44 years-14.6%
Tennant .171.5%32.1%39 years8.3%
Valspar .181.7%28.5%30 years2.5%
Source: Bloomberg News and DRiP Investing Resource Center.
Pioneering surgeon has run afoul of Fairview Health Services, though, which suspended his hospital privileges amid an investigation of his patient care.