Abbott Labs increases dividend by more than 8%

Abbott Laboratories
abbot,
+0.55%

said Friday morning that it would increase its dividend to 51 cents a share. The increase represents an 8.5% increase over the company’s previous quarterly dividend of 47 cents per share. Abbott Labs noted in the press release that it has increased its dividend for 51 straight years. Shares are up 0.9% in Friday morning trading. They’re down 19% over the past 12 months as the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-0.73%

has fallen by 15%.