NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jan 12, 2012) - Dividend payments have been rising strongly in recent quarters. Companies listed in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index paid $240.6 billion in dividends in 2011, up from $205 billion in 2010, The New York Times reports. As the New Year kicks off, data released by S&P says that dividends are on track to set a record of more than $252 billion in 2012. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for blue chip dividend paying companies and provides equity research on 3M Co. (NYSE: [ MMM ]) & McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: [ MCD ]). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

[ www.fivestarequities.com/MMM ]

[ www.fivestarequities.com/MCD ]

McDonald's Corporation presently pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share for a yield of around 2.8 percent. A recent article from The New York Times notes that McDonald's has been raising its annual payout to shareholders every year since 1976, and the company's 10 year annual dividend growth rate is 26.50%/year.

McDonald's Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a foodservice retailer worldwide. The company closed out 2011 as the Dow's top performing stock - generating in excess of a 30 percent increase in share value during 2011.

Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on blue chip dividend paying companies so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at [ www.fivestarequities.com ] and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. Presently the company pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share for a yield of around 2.6 percent. 3M has raised shareholder return for an astounding 53 years in a row.

Earlier this week, 3M Touch Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M, announced the U.S. availability of the 3M Smart Pen, 300 Series, "a uniquely designed input device finely-tuned for use with popular capacitive touchscreen devices, including the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch," according to 3M.

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