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The Board of Directors of Annaly Capital Management declared the fourth quarter 2018 common stock cash dividend of $0.30 per common share. This dividend is payable January 31, 2019, to common shareholders of record on December 31, 2018. The ex-dividend date is December 28, 2018.

The board of directors of Abbott today increased the company's quarterly common dividend to 32 cents per share, marking a 14 percent increase. This marks the 380th consecutive quarterly dividend to be paid by Abbott since 1924. The cash dividend is payable Feb. 15, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 15, 2019. Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 47 consecutive years and is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have increased dividends annually for at least 25 consecutive years.

The board of directors of Pfizer today declared a 36-cent first-quarter 2019 dividend on the company's common stock, payable March 1, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 1, 2019. Pfizer increased the dividend by approximately 6 percent, to 36 cents from 34 cents per share. The first-quarter 2019 cash dividend will be the 321st consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Pfize

The board of directors of AT&T has approved a 2.0% increase in the company's quarterly dividend. AT&T's quarterly dividend will increase from $0.50 to $0.51 per share. The annual dividend will increase from $2.00 to $2.04 per share. "Our healthy cash flows and strong outlook for 2019 give us the confidence to raise our dividend for the 35th consecutive year. The dividend is an important way we provide value to our shareholders, and I'm proud that we are able to continue our history of annual increases," said Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO, AT&T Inc. The dividend is payable on Feb. 1, 2019, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 10, 2019.

Equity Residential today announced that its Board of Trustees declared quarterly dividends on the Company's common and preferred shares. A regular common share dividend for the fourth quarter of $0.54 per share will be paid on January 11, 2019 to shareholders of record on January 2, 2019.

For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm Sayoko Murase.