One of the best ways to protect your portfolio and build passive income is with safe yielding stocks. Look at Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), for example, which just increased their dividends.

Philip Morris Raised its Dividend to $1.60

Philip Morris raised its quarterly dividend from $1.47 to $1.60 per share. That is an 8.8% increase. That’s payable on October 26 to shareholders of record as of October 2. Philip Morris still sells cigarettes, but it has also built a growing business around products such as heated tobacco devices and nicotine pouches. Those smoke-free products brought in about 42% of its net revenue in the second quarter of 2026, according to the company.

The company also just hiked its guidance. It raised its full-year diluted EPS forecast to a range of $7.28 to $7.43. The company also updated its third quarter adjusted diluted EPS forecast to a range of $2.29 to $2.34. The midpoint of the range of $2.315 is ahead of the estimate of $2.25.

Texas Instruments Raised Dividend to $1.52

Texas Instruments just raised its dividend to $1.52 from $1.42. That’s payable on November 10 to shareholders of record as of October 30. Analysts at Citi also reiterated a buy rating on the stock, noting that, “We remain buyers of TXN, our top analog pick, as its manufacturing capacity should position it to capture a greater share,” as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

Earnings and guidance were also strong. In its second quarter, EPS OF $2.14 beat by 20 cents. Revenue of $5.46 billion, up 22.7% year over year, beat by $220 million. The company added that, “Revenue increased 13% sequentially and 23% from the same quarter a year ago with broad growth led by industrial, data center and automotive,” as reported by Seeking Alpha. “TI’s third quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $5.65 billion to $6.15 billion vs. $5.24B consensus and earnings per share between $2.23 and $2.57 vs. $1.95 consensus.”

Microsoft Raised Dividend to 98 Cents

Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, an increase of about 8%. That’s payable on December 10 to shareholders of record as of November 19.

Helping, the stock was just upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel, as the investment firm said the tech giant is “getting back on track,” reported Seeking Alpha. “We are increasingly comfortable with the company’s ability to sustain mid/upper teens revenue growth as open-weight model advancement has boosted management’s LLM agnostic strategy (Azure & Copilot), COGS/OPEX operational efficiencies are supportive of stable operating margins and strong cash-flows should limit the company’s need for outside financing,” they added.

The firm also increased its price target on Microsoft to $575 from $530 and added that it expects “accelerating” revenue growth in Azure.

In short…

Dividend increases are encouraging because they put more cash in shareholders’ pockets. They can also show that a company feels confident about its ability to keep generating cash in the years ahead. 

These dividend increases above give investors three different businesses to consider for income. Philip Morris is growing its smoke-free product business, Texas Instruments is seeing stronger demand across several markets, and Microsoft continues to benefit from its cloud business. Each company is also returning more cash to shareholders. And if you’re looking to build a portfolio that can pay you while you hold it, PM, TXN, and MSFT are worth a closer look.

Of course, a dividend increase doesn’t guarantee that a stock will rise. Investors still need to consider the price they’re paying and whether each company can sustain its growth. But for anyone building a portfolio with both income and long-term potential in mind, these three stocks deserve a place on the watchlist.