Guru Stocks Raising Dividends: Lennox International Inc., Warwick Valley Telephone Company, Birner Dental Management Services Inc., Cohen & Steers Inc., Applied Materials Inc.

This is the group of companies who raised their dividend during the week: Lennox International Inc. (LII, Financial), Warwick Valley Telephone Company (WWVY, Financial), Birner Dental Management Services Inc. (BDMS, Financial), Cohen & Steers Inc. (CNS, Financial), and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT, Financial).

Lennox International Inc. (LII)

Lennox International Inc. is a global provider of climate control solutions. Lennox International Inc. has a market cap of $2.44 billion; its shares were traded at around $43.42 with a P/E ratio of 24.9 and P/S ratio of 0.9. The dividend yield of Lennox International Inc. stocks is 1.2%. Lennox International Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 9.2% over the past 5 years. The company raised quarterly distributions by 7% to 15 cents/share. This is the first dividend increase for the company since 2007. The stock yields only 1.30%.

Lennox International Inc. reported fourth quarter 2008 results. revenue was $746 million, down 15% from the prior year, including a 5 point negative impact from foreign exchange. For the full year, revenue was $3.5 billion, down 7% from the prior year, including a 1 point benefit from foreign exchange. Adjusted EBIT margin was up 10 basis points to 7.6%. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations on an adjusted basis, a non-GAAP measure, was $2.71 compared to $2.51 in the prior year, up 8%.

Director John W Norris Iii, Director C L Henry, and VP, Controller-LII Roy A Rumbough sold shares of LII stock.

Warwick Valley Telephone Company (WWVY)

WARWICK VALLEY TELEPHONE CO. is an independent telephone company with 13,506 access lines in New York State and 8,286 in New Jersey at December 31, 1995. Warwick Valley Telephone Company has a market cap of $76 million; its shares were traded at around $14.18 with a P/E ratio of 11.8 and P/S ratio of 3.3. The dividend yield of Warwick Valley Telephone Company stocks is 6.2%. The company’s board of directors raised quarterly dividend by 9.10% to 24 cents/share. This is the second annual dividend increase for this company since 2009. The stock yields 7.30%.

Michael Price owns shares of WWVY stock.

President & CEO Duane W Albro bought shares of WWVY stock.

Birner Dental Management Services Inc. (BDMS)

Birner Dental Mgmt. Svcs. acquires, develops, and manages geographically dense dental practice networks in select markets, including Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Birner Dental Management Services Inc. has a market cap of $31.6 million; its shares were traded at around $17 with a P/E ratio of 17.1 and P/S ratio of 0.9. The dividend yield of Birner Dental Management Services Inc. stocks is 4%. Birner Dental Management Services Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 18.4% over the past 5 years. GuruFocus rated Birner Dental Management Services Inc. the business predictability rank of 3.5-star. The company’s board of directors raised quarterly dividend by 17% to 20 cents/share. This is the first dividend increase for the company since 2008. The stock yields 5.10%.

Chairman of the Board - CEO, 10% Owner Frederic W J Birner sold shares of BDMS stock.

Cohen & Steers Inc. (CNS)

Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a manager of income-oriented equity portfolios and specializes in common and preferred stocks of REITs and utilities, as well as other preferred securities. Cohen & Steers Inc. has a market cap of $1.01 billion; its shares were traded at around $23.91 with a P/E ratio of 36.8 and P/S ratio of 8.2. The dividend yield of Cohen & Steers Inc. stocks is 0.9%. The company’s board of directors doubled the quarterly dividend to 10 cents/share. Before you get too excited, investors should note that the new distribution is less than half of the highest quarterly distribution of 22 cents/share paid in 2008. The stock yields 1.70%.

George Soros and Ron Baron own shares of CNS stock.

CFO, EVP Matthew S. Stadler, General Counsel, Secretary, EVP Francis C Poli, and Chief Accounting Officer Bernard Matthew Doucette sold shares of CNS stock.

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT)

Applied Materials develops, manufactures, markets and services semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment and related spare parts for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Applied Materials Inc. has a market cap of $16.75 billion; its shares were traded at around $12.49 with a P/E ratio of 138.7 and P/S ratio of 3.5. The dividend yield of Applied Materials Inc. stocks is 2%. Applied Materials Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 7.8% over the past 10 years. The company’s board of directors boosted the quarterly dividend by 17% to 7 cents/share. This is the first dividend increase since 2007. The stock currently yields 2.30%.

Applied Materials, Inc. reported results for its first quarter of fiscal 2010 ended January 31, 2010. The company generated net sales of $1.85 billion, operating profit of $116 million, and net income of $83 million or $0.06 per share. Non-GAAP net income was $179 million or $0.13 per share. The company generated operating cash flow of $367 million during the quarter. The company acquired Semitool Inc. in an all-cash transaction for $323 million, net of cash acquired, and paid cash dividends of $80 million. At the end of the period, the company held $3.2 billion in cash and investments.

Bill Nygren bought shares of AMAT stock.

Brian Rogers, Kenneth Fisher, PRIMECAP Management, and Ruane Cunniff own shares of AMAT stock.

VP, Corporate Controller Yvonne Weatherford, Sr. VP, GC & Corp. Secretary Joseph J Sweeney, Senior Vice President Manfred Kerschbaum, and Executive Vice President Franz Janker sold shares of AMAT stock.