One of the gifts that investors always look forward to is the dividend hikes. These increases not only improve the price of that particular stock, but it also put some extra cash into the pockets of stockholders. Let’s have a look at some of the companies that have recently improved their dividends.

The first one on the list is Hormel Foods Corp (NYSE:HRL), one of the leading companies in the food sector. Almost each and every American knows the brands of this company. The company, among other products, also sells Muscle Milk Drink, Skippy Peanut Butter and Spam. Hormel recently posted an increase of 25 percent in its dividends. It is important to mention here that Hormel increases its dividends almost every year. Hormel Foods Corp (NYSE:HRL) has been paying dividends since 1928, and not once did the chain break. The company, for the last 49 years, has been increasing its dividends each year.  There are not many stocks that have carried out this practice even for 25 years in a row.

Coming to the finances of Hormel Foods Corp (NYSE:HRL), the company has a lot of cash lying around. The cash flow of Hormel is in a positive with enough money available to cover the dividend increases. The company will be paying out new dividends on the 17^th of January 2015.The stocks of the company are currently being traded in the range of $52.50 to $52.87. It has a market capitalization of $13.9 billion.

The second company on the list is McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC). This is also a food company that specializes in extracts, spices and mixes. McCormick dates back to 1899 and pays a solid dividend to its stockholders. The company increased its quarterly dividends by 8 percent; meaning that the stockholders will get an extra $0.4 for each share.

The net sales of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have recorded to be at quite high numbers. The company’s bottom line improved by 18 percent on a yearly basis. The cash flow for operations also stood at high numbers, especially when compared with the figures of the same quarter a year back. Such a strong cash flow means that the company can easily distribute the new dividends. McCormick is expected to deliver its new dividends on January 14, 2015.

Coming to the stocks of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC), the company is currently trading in the range of $72.82 to $73.53.

The last one on the list is Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), one of the giants that deal with pharmaceuticals. The company announced an increase of $0.01 per share. This increase was justified considering the net profits in its most recent quarter; the figures dropped from $1.1 billion to $895 million in a matter of one year. The sales of the company also dropped by 4 percent and came down to $10.6 billion.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has announced to hand out the dividends on January 08, 2014.

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