Realty Income (O) will raise its monthly dividend by another 0.2 percent to $0.22 per share in the third quarter of 2018. In 2017 O hiked its dividend five times for a total of 4.9 percent.

Including two dividend hikes earlier this year the REIT has now raised its dividend by a total of 3.5 percent in 2018.

The dividend is payable on July 13, 2018 to shareholders of record as of July 2, 2018. This is the 97th dividend increase since Realty Income's listing on the NYSE in 1994. The ex-dividend date for July's dividend is June 29, 2018. The new monthly dividend represents an annualized dividend amount of $2.64 per share as compared to the current annualized dividend amount of $2.634 per share.

"We are pleased that our Board of Directors has once again determined that we are able to increase the amount of the monthly dividend we pay to our shareholders," said John P. Case, Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income. "With the payment of the July dividend, we will have made 576 consecutive monthly dividend payments and paid over $5.5 billion in dividends throughout our 49-year operating history."

Realty Income Corporation is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with properties owned under long-term lease agreements with regional and national commercial tenants. The Company has tenants active in 48 segments, including Apparel, Automotive tire services, Beverages, Child care, Convenience stores, Dollar stores, Drug stores, Financial services, Food processing, Grocery stores, Health and fitness, Health care, Home improvement, Restaurants-casual dining, Restaurants-quick service, Sporting goods, Theaters, Transportation services and Wholesale club.