Abbott Labs boosts dividend by more than 8%

Abbott Laboratories
ABT,
+0.55%
said Friday morning that it would be raising its dividend to 51 cents a share. The increase amounts to a 8.5% bump relative to the company’s prior quarterly dividend of 47 cents a share. Abbott Labs noted in the release that it has upped its dividend for 51 consecutive years. Shares are up 0.9% in Friday morning trading. They’ve lost 19% over the past 12 months as the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.73%
has fallen 15%.