General Electric (NYSE:GE) Raises Dividend as Expected

General Electric (NYSE:GE) announced it has raised its dividend to 14 cents a share, an increase of 17 percent from the 12 percent it had been offering.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt said "We are able to increase the GE dividend for the second time this year because of continued strong cash generation, accelerated recovery at GE Capital and solid underlying performance in our Industrial businesses through year-end 2010."

While the dividend was expected, it may have caught some off guard as to how quickly it was implemented. Many thought it may come sometime in 2011.

Other major financial institutions such as Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE:PNC) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) are all expected to raise their dividends soon as well, although they're waiting to get approval from the Federal Reserve.

Citigroup because of the government continuing to hold a stake in the company will have to wait longer than their peers.

General Electric was trading at $17.53, up $0.41, or 2.36 percent, as of 12:31 PM EST.