Dividend Aristocrats is a group of stocks that have 25+ years of consecutive dividend growth in the S&P 500 Index. Only 3 utility stocks are on the list. Consolidated Edison (ED) have 48 years of consistent dividends. The list has a diverse portfolio that includes consumer goods, financials and industrials as well as healthcare. Over 100 years of experience and 48+ dividend increases per year, including more that 100 years over the past 48 years.
source: ny.gov
A dividend aristocrat is a stock that has increased its dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. The list of dividend aristocrats changes every year as companies are added and dropped, but there are currently about 65 stocks on the list. Finding dividend aristocrats can be a great way to generate income and grow your portfolio.
COMPANY | SECTOR | YEARS OF DIVIDEND GROWTH | DIVIDEND YIELD (AS OF FEB. 9) |
3M Co. (MMM) | Industrials | 64 | 3.7% |
A.O. Smith Corp. (AOS) | Industrials | 29 | 1.5% |
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) | Health care | 50 | 1.5% |
AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) | Health care | 50 | 4.5% |
Aflac Inc. (AFL) | Financials | 39 | 2.5% |
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD) | Materials | 40 | 2.6% |
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) | Materials | 28 | 0.7% |
Amcor PLC (AMCR) | Materials | 39 | 4.2% |
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) | Consumer staples | 48 | 2.1% |
Atmos Energy Corp. (ATO) | Utilities | 35 | 2.6% |
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) | Information technology | 47 | 2% |
Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BDX) | Health care | 50 | 1.3% |
Brown & Brown Inc. (BRO) | Financials | 28 | 0.6% |
Brown-Forman Corp. (BF-B) | Consumer staples | 38 | 1.1% |
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) | Health care | 35 | 3.6% |
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) | Industrials | 28 | 2.2% |
Chevron Corp. (CVX) | Energy | 35 | 4.1% |
Chubb Ltd. (CB) | Financials | 29 | 1.6% |
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (CHD) | Consumer staples | 26 | 1% |
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) | Financials | 62 | 2.2% |
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) | Industrials | 38 | 1% |
The Clorox Co. (CLX) | Consumer staples | 46 | 3.2% |
The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) | Consumer staples | 60 | 2.7% |
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) | Consumer staples | 60 | 2.2% |
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) | Utilities | 48 | 3.7% |
Dover Corp. (DOV) | Industrials | 66 | 1.2% |
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) | Materials | 30 | 1.1% |
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) | Industrials | 60 | 2.1% |
Essex Property Trust Inc. (ESS) | Real estate | 28 | 2.7% |
Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (EXPD) | Industrials | 28 | 1.1% |
ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) | Energy | 38 | 4.3% |
Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) | Real estate | 50 | 3.5% |
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) | Financials | 41 | 3.7% |
General Dynamics Corp. (GD) | Industrials | 31 | 2.2% |
Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) | Consumer discretionary | 66 | 2.5% |
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) | Consumer staples | 56 | 2.2% |
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) | Industrials | 51 | 2.2% |
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) | Information technology | 26 | 4.8% |
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | Health care | 60 | 2.5% |
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) | Consumer staples | 49 | 3.5% |
Linde PLC (LIN) | Materials | 29 | 1.4% |
Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (LOW) | Consumer discretionary | 48 | 1.4% |
McCormick & Co. (MKC) | Consumer staples | 36 | 1.4% |
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) | Consumer discretionary | 45 | 2.1% |
Medtronic PLC (MDT) | Health care | 44 | 2.5% |
NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) | Utilities | 26 | 2% |
Nucor Corp. (NUE) | Materials | 49 | 1.7% |
Pentair PLC (PNR) | Industrials | 45 | 1.4% |
People’s United Financial Inc. (PBCT) | Financials | 29 | 3.4% |
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) | Consumer staples | 49 | 2.5% |
PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) | Materials | 50 | 1.5% |
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) | Consumer staples | 66 | 2.2% |
Realty Income Corp. (O) | Real estate | 27 | 4.4% |
Roper Technologies Inc. (ROP) | Industrials | 29 | 0.6% |
S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) | Financials | 49 | 0.8% |
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) | Materials | 43 | 0.8% |
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) | Industrials | 54 | 1.9% |
Sysco Corp. (SYY) | Consumer staples | 42 | 2.3% |
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) | Financials | 36 | 2.9% |
Target Corp. (TGT) | Consumer discretionary | 50 | 1.7% |
VF Corp. (VFC) | Consumer discretionary | 50 | 3.2% |
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) | Industrials | 51 | 1.3% |
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) | Consumer staples | 46 | 3.8% |
Walmart Inc. (WMT) | Consumer staples | 49 | 1.6% |
West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (WST) | Health care | 29 | 0.2% |
The first step in finding dividend aristocrats is to visit S&P Global’s website. On the website, you will find a thorough list of all the current dividend aristocrats. The list includes the company name, symbol, sector, and market cap. You can also see how long each company has been paying dividends and the dividend yield.
Once you have found a few companies that you are interested in, the next step is to research them further. You want to make sure that the company is financially sound and that the dividend is sustainable. A good place to start is by looking at the company’s earnings per share (EPS). The EPS should be consistently growing year over year. You should also look at the payout ratio, which is the percentage of earnings that are paid out as dividends. A sustainable payout ratio is below 80%.
Dividend aristocrats can be a great way to generate income and grow your portfolio. The first step in finding dividend aristocrats is to visit S&P Global’s website. Once you have found a few companies that you are interested in, the next step is to research them further. You want to make sure that the company is financially sound and that the dividend is sustainable. A good place to start is by looking at the company’s earnings per share (EPS) and payout ratio. By following these steps, you can find several great companies that will help you reach your financial goals.
Xander is a writer for whatisdividend.com. He has been writing about personal finance and investing for over 10 years. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Money Magazine. He is a Certified Financial Planner and holds a degree in financial planning from Boston University. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.