We can’t say October is a traditionally hot time for dividend increases, but a handful of publicly traded companies have chosen this spooky month for their latest dividend increases. Among the best-known patient lifts were two sturdy stalwarts of the industrial sector, Lockheed-Martin (NYSE:LMT) And Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON). Here’s a look at this new pair of dividend increases.

1. Lockheed Martin

Being the largest purely specialized defense company on the planet gives Lockheed Martin great market power. This also helps propel its payments to ever higher altitudes. The company wasn’t shy about mentioning that its latest quarterly dividend increase – nearly 5% from its predecessor, to $3.30 per share – marks the 22nd consecutive year of increasing the payout.

The beauty of being a busy, active U.S. defense contractor is the awards a company can earn on major government contracts alone. Our armed forces want contractors they can rely on for many years, so contracts in this sector can be quite long. They’re also lucrative, given the sophisticated equipment required and the immense size of federal coffers.

Lockheed Martin has been a key producer of defense products for decades. It is no coincidence that he is the prime contractor for the F-35 program, leading the project with the most sophisticated combat aircraft in history. Today, we live in a world where high-stakes conflicts are underway or ready to erupt. So it’s no surprise that the company grew sales 9% year over year in its most recent quarter, to more than $18 billion.

We’re barely a week away from Lockheed Martin’s scheduled third-quarter earnings release. Analysts expect continued revenue growth (nearly 4% to nearly $17.4 billion). Even though profitability is expected to fall to $6.47 per share from $6.73 a year ago, the former is still well in the black. At the same time, the company’s free cash flow is more than enough to continue increasing payments, so there are no concerns about that.

Lockheed Martin will pay this increased dividend on December 27 to investors of record as of December 2. At the most recent closing price, the yield would be 2.2%.

2.Honeywell

Elsewhere in the industrial sector, we have the sprawling engineering company Honeywell. Like Lockheed Martin, Honeywell’s board recently approved a dividend increase of close to 5%, in this case to $1.13 per quarter. With this move, Honeywell has declared at least one dividend increase per year for 14 consecutive years.

While this payment profile is close to Lockheed Martin’s, Honeywell unfortunately isn’t as good in terms of performance. Sprawling expansion is difficult to manage effectively, and the famous company has stumbled in recent years. Its great success in the once-promising Internet of Things (IoT) market has yet to bear fruit in any significant way, and it is not a dominant player in any hot industry segment at the moment.

Honeywell’s financial data is revealing. Following the fall in revenue and, more importantly, profitability, during the pandemic, the company has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels in either of these metrics.

That being said, things haven’t been too bad lately. It managed to increase its revenue by 5% year-over-year in the second quarter, to almost $9.6 billion, even though only one of its four divisions – aerospace – saw significant growth ( of 16%). Non-GAAP earnings per share (adjusted) increased 8% to $2.49.

At the end of 2023, Honeywell management announced that it would “align” its huge product portfolio with three important global trends: automation, the future of aviation and the transition to green energy. It takes time to correct the course of a ship of this size, so patience with the company will be required. Given its history and vast resources, I would give it more than a chance to succeed. The Honeywells of this world don’t usually sit idle forever.

The company’s new dividend is scheduled to be distributed on December 6 to shareholders of record as of November 15. It would yield 2.1%.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Lockheed Martin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.