Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 15th of January to $1.09, which will be 11% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of $0.98. Even though the dividend went up, the yield is still quite low at only 0.8%.

Motorola Solutions' Payment Could Potentially Have Solid Earnings Coverage

If it is predictable over a long period, even low dividend yields can be attractive. Prior to this announcement, Motorola Solutions' dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 73.0%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 28%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Motorola Solutions Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. Since 2014, the dividend has gone from $1.24 total annually to $3.92. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 12% per annum over that time. We can see that payments have shown some very nice upward momentum without faltering, which provides some reassurance that future payments will also be reliable.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. We are encouraged to see that Motorola Solutions has grown earnings per share at 8.0% per year over the past five years. Since earnings per share is growing at an acceptable rate, and the payout policy is balanced, we think the company is positioning itself well to grow earnings and dividends in the future.

Motorola Solutions Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.