Good morning!

We’ve got some good news to kick-off the day. Two companies are raising their payouts. But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Today’s dispatch also contains a cautionary tale about why yield-chasing rarely works. More on that in a moment…

To start with, let’s take a look at a massive, inflation-beating dividend raise coming from a richly-valued stock that recently experienced a massive sell-off.

Waste Management, Inc. ($WM) Raises Dividend By 14.5%

Garbage day!

Waste Management is dividend stock that many investors love. And for good reason, the stock has delivered a market-beating average annual total return of 17.30% over the past decade.

Waste Management is North America’s largest waste solutions provider.

The company operates garbage trucks and landfills in 47 states as well as six Canadian provinces. And in many areas, Waste Management has a regional monopoly on trash collection.

This stock usually trades at an extremely high valuation, however Waste Management recently experienced a sell-off and is down nearly 7% in over the past six months.

Luckily, the company’s fundamentals remain solid.

Yesterday, Waste Management announced its 2026 dividend raise, a 14.5% increase over the previous payout. The firm didn’t provide a specific date for this distribution, but they did state that it will be paid sometime in March.

Waste Management, Inc. will now pay a $0.945/share quarterly dividend.

  • Ex-dividend date: TBA

  • Payout date: March 2026

  • Forward starting dividend yield: 1.73%

Pentair plc ($PNR) Raises Dividend By 8%

A newly minted Dividend King, Pentair plc has raised its payouts every year for 50 years.

Pentair designs and sells pool equipment, water softening solutions, and wastewater reuse systems. The company’s products include the Pentek water filter, RainSoft water purification system, and Kreepy Krauly automatic pool cleaner.

Yesterday, the firm announced an 8% dividend increase.

Pentair plc will now pay a $0.27/share quarterly dividend.

  • Ex-dividend date: 1/23/26

  • Payout date: 2/6/26

  • Forward starting dividend yield: 1.02%

Ready Capital Corporation ($RC) Slashes Dividend By 92%

Ready Capital Corporation is a real estate finance company that provides lower middle market loans to construction companies and small businesses.

This company often appears on lists of high-yield dividend stocks. However, the firm has consistently reduced its dividend almost every year in recent years. In fact, Ready Capital already cut its dividend back in March.

And yesterday, the firm announced another massive dividend cut, slashing its payout by 92%.

Ready Capital Corporation will now pay a $0.01/share quarterly dividend.

  • Ex-dividend date: 12/31/25

  • Payout date: 1/30/26

  • Forward starting dividend yield: 1.71%

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As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day investing!

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Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, always do your own research.

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