Xylem (XYL) will raise its quarterly dividend by 7.7 percent to $0.28 per share in 2021. This comes after a dividend hike of 8.3 percent to $0.26 per share in the first quarter of 2020. The water technology company hiked its dividend by double digits in each of the previous seven years.

The new dividend yield for XYL is 1.2% based on a stock price of $98 and 2021 will mark the 9th consecutive year of dividend increases announced by Xylem. The next dividend is payable on March 18, 2021, to shareholders of record as of February 18, 2021.

Xylem now pays shareholders an estimated $202 million in dividends annually. 

Xylem Inc. is water technology company. Xylem’s products and services move, treat, analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a portfolio of smart metering, network technologies and advanced infrastructure analytics solutions for water, electric and gas utilities. The company's brands include Flygt, Wedeco, Godwin, Lowara, Flojet and Flowtronex. The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants.