Company: Becton Dickinson and Co

Specialty glass maker Corning has announced it will buy the majority of Becton Dickinson's Discovery Labware unit for about $730 million in cash, to add drug-discovery and lab research tools to its life sciences products portfolio.

Investors are reassured – and companies consider it a point of pride – when executives note an uninterrupted track record for raising dividends. Dividend payments also offer investors a cushion on their investment, increasing the overall returns of the stock. Historically, dividend payments have accounted for more than 40 percent of the S&P 500’s total returns.