U.S. Stock Dividends Reach Record $113 Billion in First Quarter

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stockholders received record dividends of $113 billion in the first quarter as almost 80 percent of companies increased their payments from a year earlier, according to a report today from Janus Henderson Group Plc.

“Recent U.S. corporate tax reforms could encourage this trend,” Ben Lofthouse, Janus Henderson director of global equity income, said in a statement. “The second quarter is seasonally important for European dividend payments and we will see a much broader range of industries and countries contributing.”

Dividends worldwide set a first-quarter record of $244.7 billion, according to the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, a 10 percent increase from a year earlier. Global dividends climbed to a record $1.252 trillion last year and are expected to rise 8.5 percent in 2018, aided by a weaker dollar, according to the fund company.

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