Dow component and Dividend Aristocrat Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) will raise its quarterly dividend by 2.2 percent to $0.4675 per share in 2020. This follows last year's 4.0 percent dividend hike and will mark the 45th consecutive year of dividend increases.

The next dividend is payable September 11, 2020 to stockholders of record as of August 19, 2020. A new annual rate of $1.87 per share yields 4.7% at a stock price of $39.74. This marks the 45th consecutive year that Walgreens Boots Alliance and its predecessor company, Walgreen Co., have raised the dividend. The company also announced that it has suspended activity under its share repurchase program.

For Walgreens Boots Alliance its the smallest dividend hike since at least 2007 with the last double digit dividend increase being announced in 2018, when the company hiked its dividend by exactly ten percent. Because of the small increases in 2019 and 2020 the average 5 year dividend growth rate drops to 5.4 percent for the company that was known for its big annual increases only eight years ago. Walgreens now pays an estimated $1.64 billion in dividends annually to its shareholders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is a global, pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise. The company is the largest retail pharmacy, health and daily living destination across the U.S. and Europe. Walgreens is a global leader in pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing retail and one of the largest global pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution networks, with its distribution centers delivering to pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitalsIn addition, Walgreens is one of the world’s largest purchasers of prescription drugs and many other health and wellbeing products. The company’s portfolio of retail and business brands includes Walgreens, Duane Reade, Boots and Alliance Healthcare, as well as increasingly global health and beauty product brands, such as No7, Soap & Glory, Liz Earle, Sleek MakeUP and Botanics.