226 Consecutive dividend increases
Weekly Dividend Progress
This week we received further real-time, tangible evidence of outstanding business progress when we collected our quarterly dividend from Intuit and became entitled to our quarterly dividends from Abbott and Watsco, all meaningfully higher than this time last year.
How We Are Tracking
Since DivGro's inception we have predicted and benefited from 226 consecutive dividend increases across our portfolio companies, with no decreases. The average rate of these dividend increases is 14.1%.
Distribution
Today, we paid our 28th consecutive quarterly distribution. Notably, this distribution is 12.9% higher than the same time last year. DivGro has grown its distributions each year by at least a double-digit percentage increase. Our quarterly distribution is already 3x higher than our first quarterly distribution paid in January 2020.
Watsco
Watsco, our dominant HVAC distributor, has increased its dividend by an incredible 100-fold since 2000 — helping to power its stock price alongside. The company just announced the completion of its 74th acquisition since transitioning to HVAC distribution in 1989. Newly acquired but founded in 1971, The Granite Group is a third-generation, family-led company which has compounded its sales growth around 10% per annum since 2010 and will add $500 million in sales across 82 locations in seven Northeast states. This deal is emblematic of Watsco’s reputational advantage; as a disciplined acquirer, it is highly unlikely to offer the highest price, but sellers who wish to preserve what they have built nevertheless prefer to sell to Watsco. Case in point? Bill Condron, CEO of the Granite Group, reflected: “we love the fact that The Granite Group will remain independent while gaining access to Watsco’s scale, capital, and the most advanced technology platforms in the industry. Our team is motivated to join and collaborate with Watsco’s community of great companies and leadership teams.” With quality add-ons like this, and against the backdrop of 120 million units of air-conditioners already installed that require ongoing repairs and maintenance, Watsco appears set to strengthen its impressive dividend growth credentials in the future.