Pepsi Increases Dividend For 37th Consecutive Year

The Board of Directors of Pepsi (PEP: 65.10 +0.20%) has approved a 6% increase in the company’s quarterly dividend to $.45 per share.

The dividend increase puts Pepsi’s current dividend yield at 3.6%.

“We are pleased to announce our thirty-seventh annual dividend increase, reflecting the strength of our cash flow and balance sheet,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. “Even in this difficult economy, we are committed to return cash to our shareholders while continuing to invest in the long-term growth of our business.”

The dividend will be payable on June 30, 2009 to shareholders of record as of June 5,, 2009.

The dividend increase should be welcome news to Pepsi investors who have seen their stock decline almost 10% since the beginning of the year. In 2008, Pepsi stock fell 28%, barely outperforming the 34% decline in the Dow Jones industrial average.