Abbott announces 339th consecutive dividend

The board of directors of pharmacy supplier Abbott has announced a quarterly common dividend of 36 cents for each share held.

The firm reported this is the 339th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the firm since 1924, with the money payable on November 15th 2008 to recorded shareholders on October 15th 2008.

“Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 36 consecutive years – including a 10.8 percent increase earlier this year,” the company said.

It added that its shares were named to the Fortune 40 ranking of the best stocks to retire on, while it has had the second-highest average annual return of all originally listed companies since the debt of the S&P over 50 years ago.

Earlier this month, Abbott announced that it had been recognised on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fourth consecutive year, becoming the only US-based Fortune 100 healthcare manufacturer to be ranked on the world and North America indices.