Mo' Money Mo' ... Dividends?

According to data recently released by S&P, companies are on track to pay a record $252 billion in dividends in 2012 based on tracking dividend rates of 394 companies. Stocks of companies that paid dividends did very well in 2011 and the theme should continue into 2012. Below is a dividend trend chart and a breakdown of the top dividend payers by sector...



Source:
NYT