Not every company is slashing its dividend these days. Some of the market's better performers are easing up on their purse strings, sending more money out to their shareholders.

Readers of the Motley Fool Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

We'll start with Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV). The investment management firm is upgrading its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.16 a share. Eaton Vance's mutual funds may go up and down, but not its disbursements. The firm has steadily boosted its yield for 29 consecutive years.

Visa (NYSE: VISA) is also charging higher. Its new quarterly payout of $0.125 a share is 19% more than its previous rate. The credit card giant went public last year, so hopefully this is the start of an annual rite.

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is also on the move. The world's largest private-sector coal company is increasing its quarterly distributions by 17% to $0.07 a share. This is the fifth time that Peabody has propped up its dividend since going public in 2001.

Finally, we have Travelers (NYSE: TRV) moving on to higher ground. The insurer is rewarding its investors after delivering better-than-expected quarterly results last week. Travelers will now send its shareholders $0.33 a share every three months, a 10% hike from its previous rate.

Some of these moves may not seem like much, but consider the insurers and financial services companies that have slashed -- or completely eliminated -- their quarterly disbursements. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is now distributing a token $0.01 a shareevery quarter, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) did away with even that single-penny payout earlier this year. 

Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles out businesses that are committed to growing their distributions, with market-thumping results.

Want to see what is being recommended these days? Go ahead and give the newsletter service a shot with a 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing that will get hiked will be your interest.

This article was originally published as 4 Dividend Stocks Showing You the Moneyon Fool.com

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