When it comes to semiconductor stocks, investors tend to focus on growth, and the Rich Templeton era at Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) shows this well. Templeton, who became CEO in May 2004, grew the stock's value by more than 600% over his tenure.

But as Templeton moves on to chairman in April, investors should also note his role in making TI one of the more notable dividend stocks in the tech space. That change in focus added significantly to the stock gains and provided a lesson on the importance of dividend growth for TI and other stocks.

When Templeton took over TI, its annual dividend stood at only $0.089 per share, amounting to a return of less than 0.4%. Thus, those who invested in TI when Templeton took over probably did not expect to earn significant dividend income.

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Source Fool.com