Wall Street has a very clear pecking order as it pertains to dividend stocks.
You generally start with the average dividend payer: a company that manages to toss out some cash on a quarterly, semiannually, or some other consistent basis. Just above that are companies that occasionally tack on a little more cash to those distributions. And those are followed by companies that are able to raise their payouts on an annual basis.
Past that, companies start to earn titles. You have your Dividend Achievers, which have posted at least a decade’s worth of uninterrupted annual dividend growth, followed by Dividend Aristocrats, which have done the same thing for at least 25 years.
And at the tippy top are the Dividend Kings: Companies that have raised their annual payouts year in and year out for at least a half-century, if not more.
Today, we’re going to talk about 15 members from this most exclusive of dividend-paying groups. Each of these companies boasts a long history of financial resilience and shareholder-friendly management. And while some of them might not boast the most scintillating yields, they all have the potential for higher “yields on cost” over time.
Editor’s Note: Tabular data presented in this article is up-to-date as of Feb. 5, 2026.
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Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized investment advice. Individual securities, funds, and/or other investments appear for your consideration and not as personalized investment recommendations. Act at your own discretion.
Table of Contents
What Is a Dividend King?
A publicly traded company that has a history of unwavering dividend growth is referred to as a Dividend Aristocrat. The exact qualifications for “Aristocracy” depends on the index—the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, for instance, have improved their annual payouts for at least 25 consecutive years—but in general, it’s a way of honoring a company’s commitment to shareholder rewards.
A Dividend King, however, is an especially prestigious title bestowed upon a select group of publicly traded companies that go above and beyond your average Aristocrat. Specifically, to earn the rank of Dividend King, a company must raise its annual dividend payout without interruption for at least 50 consecutive years.
Put more briefly: Dividend Kings are best-in-class dividend-growth stocks.
Young and the Invested Tip: Despite the already high barrier to entry of 50 years, several Dividend Kings boast several decades of consecutive dividend growth in excess of this lofty minimum.
Why Should You Buy Dividend Kings?
When you invest in a Dividend King, you’re purchasing a piece of a business that hasn’t just survived, but thrived, for several decades. They’ve navigated economic peaks and valleys, they’ve outlasted business disruptors, and they’ve either embraced or simply gotten the better of technological innovation. (After all, if they hadn’t, these companies wouldn’t have been able to finance their increasing dividends year in and year out.)
Just think about the events these firms have had to navigate successfully over the past 50 years: multiple wars, continued business disruption from technological advances, deep and shallow recessions alike, a global pandemic, and more.
Despite all that, they managed to keep fattening their dividends without so much as flinching.
Dividend Kings hold a particular appeal among investors who want to generate steady (and increasing) income over time. That’s because extended periods of dividend growth can lead to a much higher yield on the original investment—a concept known as “yield on cost.” We define and explain the concept in more detail at the end of this article, but in short, if you buy a stock that yields 2%, and it grows its dividend aggressively and for a long period of time, you might eventually be sitting on dividend yields of 6%, 8%, 10% … or even more!
If you’re looking for dividend stock ideas, read on as I discuss a specific set of Dividend Kings: those that are in the S&P 500. Eleven of these names are also officially part of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats are blue-chip royalty—predominantly large-cap stocks that have upped the ante on their payouts yearly, unimpeded, for at least a quarter-century.
These Dividend Kings, then, are the longest-serving dividend-growth stocks you can find in the U.S. stock market.
2026’s Dividend Kings
Here’s a look at 15 Dividend Kings within the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats—in other words, each of these 15 blue-chip stocks has improved upon its annual dividend once a year for at least half a century.
These stocks are listed by order of dividend streaks, from shortest to longest.
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15. Consolidated Edison
— Sector: Utilities
— Market cap: $39.3 billion
— Dividend yield: 3.3%
— Dividend-growth streak: 52 years
You’ll sniff out a lot of sturdy dividends from the utility sector. Electricity, natural gas, and water are among the most vital things we have to purchase, and the expensive infrastructure and highly regulated nature of publicly traded utilities means competition is hard to come by. That ensures a steady stream of cash, much of which often tends to find its way back into shareholders’ pockets in the form of dividends.
That’s what makes a stock like Consolidated Edison (ED) so attractive to income investors.
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“ConEd” and its subsidiaries distribute electricity to about 4 million customers in New York City and a few other counties in New York State and New Jersey, and distribute natural gas to 1.2 million more. This dense area of the U.S. is certainly not going to be less reliant on energy anytime soon, translating into a nearly certain stream of revenue for this dividend stock.
This consistency has allowed ConEd, a Dividend Aristocrat, to provide more than a half-century of consecutive annual dividend increases to its stockholders. Consolidated Edison made its 52nd increase announcement in January 2026, saying it would up its quarterly payout by more than 4%, to 88.75¢ per share.
The payout ratio is plenty manageable, too, at less than 60% of estimates for 2026’s adjusted profits. And Edison features extremely stable earnings that can slowly but persistently grow over time—allowing its dividend to expand the same way.
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14. PPG Industries
— Sector: Materials
— Market value: $27.9 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.3%
— Dividend-growth streak: 54 years
PPG Industries (PPG) is a global manufacturer and distributor of a wide variety of paints, coatings, sealants, and other products for a variety of businesses, including industry, packaging, automobiles, aerospace, and more. Its products are used in everything from infrastructure and traffic safety to consumer electrics and new cars.
“PPG” hearkens back to the company’s origins as the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, which was founded in 1883. Today, it’s the world’s No. 2 coatings company and operates in more than 70 countries.
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This is a materials company, so its business is quite cyclical; it’s not unusual for the top and bottom lines to ebb and flow. Unsurprisingly, then, PPG doesn’t commit a massive share of its profits to the payout—at current levels, the dividend represents only a third of 2026 earnings estimates.
Regardless, PPG Industries has managed to grow that dividend for 54 consecutive years. Hike No. 54 was announced in July 2025, when PPG declared a 71¢-per-share distribution—a 4.4% improvement from its prior dividend.
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13. W.W. Grainger
— Sector: Industrials
— Market value: $56.3 billion
— Dividend yield: 0.8%
— Dividend-growth streak: 54 years
W.W. Grainger (GWW) is a nearly century-old industrial supply company that focus on the maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) of products, providing tools, fasteners, lightning, electrical components, hydraulics, motors, and more across North America, the U.K., and Japan. The company’s offerings now eclipse 30 million products, which it distributes to more than 4.5 million active customers.
Grainger, like PPG, is highly diversified, which historically has helped the business survive and sometimes even thrive during economic downturns.
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But also like PPG, GWW is still a cyclical business, which means it’s in Grainger’s best interest not to stretch financially just to pay a dividend—at the moment, its yield is below 1% and represents less than 20% of future earnings estimates.
That might not seem generous, but it’s not for lack of trying to give more each year. Grainger’s payout reached 54 consecutive years of annual growth in April 2025, when GWW announced a healthy 10% dividend increase to $2.26 per share.
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12. Federal Realty Investment Trust
— Sector: Real estate
— Market value: $9.1 billion
— Dividend yield: 4.4%
— Dividend-growth streak: 58 years
Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) has a special place among the Dividend Kings, as it’s the only real estate investment trust (REIT) to have reached the 50-year threshold.
Which is funny, because dividends are part and parcel of the REIT business structure.
Real estate investment trusts are companies that own (and sometimes operate) real estate. Congress brought them to life decades ago—through the REIT Act, which was part of the Cigar Excise Tax Extension of 1960, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower—to widen access to real estate investing. Importantly, REITs enjoy an exemption from U.S. federal income taxes … in exchange for paying out at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends to their shareholders.
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REITs can and do own a wide variety of properties, from apartment and office buildings to hotels and hospitals. Federal Realty Investment Trust specializes in mixed-use (commercial and residential) properties and open-air shopping centers. Its 103 properties represent 28 million square feet of commercial space. It leases that out to 3,600 commercial tenants and 3,000 residential units, predominantly in “first-ring” suburban locations—areas that are closest to the metropolitan area and typically densely populated.
Federal Realty Investment Trust’s dividend streak of 58 years is the longest of any REIT. It recently extended its run with a decent 3% improvement to $1.13 per share, which it announced in August 2025.
As far as payout coverage is concerned, we want to focus not on profits, but “funds from operations” (FFO), a non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) metric that helps gauge REITs’ profitability and ability to fund the dividend. FRT’s current payout is about 60% of 2026 FFO estimates, which is extremely sustainable.
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11. Hormel Foods
— Sector: Consumer staples
— Market value: $13.8 billion
— Dividend yield: 4.7%
— Dividend-growth streak: 60 years
The mere mention of “Spam” might get you a side eye in hifalutin circles, but even those well-versed in haute cuisine can appreciate the income potential of Hormel Foods (HRL). Hormel, one of the most recognizable consumer companies on this list, is responsible for a host of brands, including Spam, Skippy peanut butter, Jennie-O turkey, Dinty Moore stews, its namesake bacon and chili, and dozens more.
Founded in 1891 and headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, Hormel has grown into a global brand—yes, it’s not just a U.S. consumer staples giant, but a mainstay in grocery stores in roughly 80 countries worldwide.
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Product diversification has been crucial in Hormel’s ability to maintain steady demand and navigate the dynamic food market, which is known for rapidly changing consumer tastes and preferences. That has translated into shareholder value, with the company paying and increasing its dividend for 60 consecutive years.
I mentioned throughout 2025 that Hormel maintained a roughly 75% payout ratio on 2026’s earnings estimates, which is manageable but only leaves room for modest dividend growth going forward. Well, its most recent increase, which was announced in December, was indeed modest, at just 1% to 29.25¢ per share. Regardless, that was good enough to extend Hormel’s streak to a full six decades’ worth of uninterrupted dividend growth.
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10. Illinois Tool Works
— Sector: Industrials
— Market value: $83.6 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.2%
— Dividend-growth streak: 62 years
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) might sound like your local hardware shop, but it’s a multinational industrial manufacturer operating in 51 countries. Its business lines span construction, welding, food equipment, automotive OEM, test, measurement, and specialty products, as well as polymers and fluids.
Like most industrial names, Illinois Tool Works’ business is cyclical in nature. But its wide and diverse product offerings make it at least somewhat defensive compared to its peers. An eye toward innovation helps. ITW already boasts close to 21,000 granted and pending patents, and that should only grow amid the company’s latest strategic initiative: solving problems its customers are experiencing in their work environments.
The business might be cyclical in nature, but ITW’s dividend history is as kingly as any tried-and-true defensive name. The company has been paying dividends since 1933, and it has been raising them on an annual basis for more than six decades. And it’s still doing so at a healthy pace—ITW’s 62nd consecutive hike, announced in August 2025, was a 7.3% improvement to $1.61 per share quarterly.
That’s a little more than 50% of analysts’ estimates for 2026 earnings, which is a generally sustainable level. Importantly: ITW is a cyclical company, so it must leave more breathing room than, say, staples and utilities in the event that a downturn in the economy significantly impacts its profits (and thus its ability to keep paying the dividend), even if just in the short-term.
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9. Nordson
— Sector: Industrials
— Market value: $15.7 billion
— Dividend yield: 1.2%
— Dividend-growth streak: 62 years
Nordson (NDSN) might not grab headlines like some of the more glamorous tech stocks or consumer brands, and its smaller market capitalization might keep it off the media’s radar. But its six decades of dividend growth make it a rock star among income investors—and qualify it for inclusion on this Dividend Kings list.
Based in Westlake, Ohio, Nordson has carved out a niche in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing differentiated products used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials; for fluid management; for test and inspection; and for UV curing and plasma surface treatment. It boasts more than 70 years of operation and has a presence in nearly 40 countries.
In August 2025, the company raised its payout by a little more than 5%, to 82¢ per share quarterly, marking 62 consecutive years of dividend increases. This achievement places Nordson in an elite group of stocks known for long-term, reliable dividend growth. A payout ratio sitting at less than 30% of 2026 profit estimates should give NDSN plenty of runway for future hikes.
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8. Colgate-Palmolive
— Sector: Consumer staples
— Market value: $76.4 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.2%
— Dividend-growth streak: 62 years
Colgate-Palmolive (CL) is another consumer staples giant among the ranks of the Dividend Kings.
Founded in 1806 and headquartered in New York City, Colgate-Palmolive has built a global empire in oral care, personal care, home care, and pet nutrition. The company’s extensive product portfolio—featuring not just its namesake brands, but also Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Speed Stick deodorants, Irish Spring soaps, and Tom’s of Maine natural care products, among others—caters to everyday consumer needs, ensuring persistent demand and financial stability.
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That stability has filtered through to shareholders via a longtime dividend. CL started paying dividends more than a century ago, when Grover Cleveland was serving his second term as president. And it has improved that payout without interruption for 62 consecutive years.
Colgate’s most recent distribution increase was a 4% bump announced in March 2025, to 52¢ per share. That’s roughly half analysts’ profit expectations for 2026, making the dividend look both durable and primed for future growth.
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7. Johnson & Johnson
— Sector: Health care
— Market value: $572.9 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.2%
— Dividend-growth streak: 63 years
There’s an old saying that the best dividend stocks are “widow-and-orphan” investments. That’s because the income they pay is considered so safe, they’d be appropriate even for society’s most vulnerable members: widows and orphans.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a prime example. It is among the 25 largest companies on Wall Street, with a massive brand and more than 135 years of operations.
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It was long a consumer-health giant, but in 2023, JNJ spun off those operations—which included the likes of Tylenol and Band-Aid—into Kenvue (KVUE), which also adopts its dividend-growth streak. But while that modestly reduced the overall footprint of the company, it also sharpened its focus on high-margin drugs (including its Janssen Pharmaceuticals arm) and medical devices to ensure future success. Now, the top and bottom lines are driven by products such as inflammation treatment Stelara, multiple myeloma drug Darzalex, and medical technologies such as electrophysiology, biosurgery, and wound closure products.
JNJ is deeply embedded in the health care system and a top dividend stock that income investors can rely on through any market environment.
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From a dividend perspective, the health care giant has raised its payouts for 63 years running, including a 5% upgrade announced in April 2025, to $1.30 per share. But it still has a payout ratio of just 40%, hinting there’s ample headroom for future increases, too.
Johnson & Johnson is also one of the most credit-worthy companies in the world, ranking as one of just two U.S. companies with a top AAA rating for its corporate debt. Microsoft (MSFT) is the other, if you’re curious. Indeed, following America’s recent credit downgrade by Moody’s, JNJ and MSFT now boast higher debt ratings than the U.S. government across all three of the major debt ratings agencies.
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6. Coca-Cola
— Sector: Consumer staples
— Market value: $303.9 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.9%
— Dividend-growth streak: 63 years
In case you haven’t noticed by now, consumer staples stocks feature prominently among the Dividend Kings.
Consumer staples stocks—companies that make goods considered to be basic necessities—are as resilient as they come. That’s because when times get tough, households might spend less on vacations and designer jeans, but they’re not going to stop going to the grocery store. (That’s why staples make for some of the best dividend stocks for beginners, too.)
The next consumer staples name on our list is Atlanta-based beverage titan Coca-Cola (KO), which has more than 130 years of operating history and currently serves up more than 200 brands to more than 200 countries and territories.
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Sugary soft drinks might not be a growth business in an age of healthier living, but Coca-Cola products still enjoy strong baseline demand. Plus, this mega-cap powerhouse is more than just Coke. Coca-Cola boasts a wide variety of other beverage brands, including Vitaminwater and Dasani water, Fuze teas, Powerade sports drinks, Minute Maid juices, Costa Coffee, and many more.
KO announced a 5% hike to its payout, to 51¢ per share, in February 2025, marking its 63rd consecutive annual dividend increase. That long-standing and long-growing dividend is why Coca-Cola’s shares have so much institutional demand, including a massive stake held by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B). The holding company founded by Warren Buffett is KO’s largest shareholder, at more than 9% of the company’s shares—a strong foundation for share prices, as well as a mandate for consistent and generous dividends.
The dividend appears to be quite safe, as well, representing a little less than 65% of Coca-Cola’s projected 2026 earnings.
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5. Cincinnati Financial
— Sector: Financials
— Market value: $26.8 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.2%
— Dividend-growth streak: 66 years
Fairfield, Ohio-based Cincinnati Financial (CINF) is a Dividend King that has consistently delivered shareholder value from within the insurance industry since 1950. In that time, CINF has established itself as a reliable property and casualty insurer, along with offering life insurance and asset management services.
Insurance companies aren’t exactly first-to-mind when it comes to even-keeled financial performance, just given the ups and downs they can suffer from interest-rate changes, natural disasters, and other outside forces. To wit, CINF generated net income of $2.3 billion in 2024 and $1.8 billion in 2023. But it lost $486 million across 2022 … after earning nearly $3 billion in 2021.
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However, the company’s steady approach to insurance and financial services has been key to building investor confidence. That’s no small feat. Consider that scores of insurers and financial firms were forced to suspend or at least reduce their dividends during and after the Great Recession to preserve cash.
Not Cincinnati Financial, which has a conservatively managed payout that sits at just 45% of 2026’s profit expectations.
CINF has managed to grow that dividend for 66 consecutive years, too. The company announced its latest improvement in late January 2026: an 8% bump to 94¢ per share.
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4. Emerson Electric
— Sector: Industrials
— Market value: $84.8 billion
— Dividend yield: 1.4%
— Dividend-growth streak: 68 years
Emerson Electric (EMR) is an industrial-sector firm that was founded in 1890 and headquartered in St. Louis. Emerson has established itself as a global leader in technology and engineering, providing innovative solutions in process control, industrial automation, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and more.
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The company’s emphasis on technological advancement and diversified market penetration has been crucial in maintaining a competitive edge over the past 125-plus years. What once was a maker of electric motors and fans is now a global industrial-technology giant that produces not just tens of thousands of products, but even industry, automation, and operations management software.
While its most recent payout increases haven’t been much to crow about, Emerson Electric has delivered decades of consistent dividend growth. This industrial firm’s dividend track record spans 69 consecutive years, including a 5% improvement to the quarterly distribution, to 55.5¢ per share quarterly, announced in November 2025. That’s a scant 35% of estimates for 2026 profits and 30% of 2027’s; expectedly low for a cyclical company, and a more-than-reasonable safety net.
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3. Procter & Gamble
— Sector: Consumer staples
— Market value: $368.6 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.7%
— Dividend-growth streak: 69 years
In economic downturns, people might cut back on discretionary spending—but just like with food, they’ll also be slow to reduce spending in other consumer necessities like the household and personal-care products sold by Procter & Gamble (PG), one of the oldest Dividend Kings.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Procter & Gamble boasts a rich history dating back to 1837, when William Procter (a candle maker) joined forces with his brother-in-law, James Gamble (a soap maker). Now, with its global presence in over 180 countries, PG has become synonymous with essential consumer goods.
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The company’s portfolio spans numerous categories, including Tide, Gain, Downy, Cheer, and Bounce laundry products; Gillette razors; Bounty paper towels; Charmin toilet paper; Pampers and Luvs baby products; and so much more. This diversification across everyday products provides steady demand, insulating P&G from volatility. Plus, these durable brands offer consistent pricing power, keeping consumers loyal even during periods of rising costs. This offers the company a superior moat (insulation from competitors).
Procter & Gamble also has an illustrious dividend history, including 135 consecutive years of paying dividends and 69 straight years of improving those distributions. P&G’s most recent hike was by 5% to $1.0568 per share quarterly, announced in April 2025. Its stability and dividend reliability (the distribution accounts for about 60% of 2026 profit estimates) makes it one of the top choices for investors seeking steady, long-term dividend income.
2. Genuine Parts
— Sector: Consumer discretionary
— Market value: $20.3 billion
— Dividend yield: 2.8%
— Dividend-growth streak: 69 years
Genuine Parts (GPC) might be considered a consumer discretionary stock, but given that it deals in automotive and industrial parts, much of what it sells is downright essential—and its dividend track record reflects that.
Established in 1928 and headquartered in Atlanta, GPC has carved a niche for itself as a premier distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts, and business products. Its automotive segment (roughly two-thirds of revenues) predominantly come from large auto-care chains and local repair shops, though a little less than a quarter come from individual consumers. And its industrial segment (roughly one-third of revenues) sells directly to companies with large fleets.
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Key to the company’s enduring success has been its extensive network of distribution centers and stores, including the well-known NAPA Auto Parts brand. This long reach has ensured a steady demand for its products, which is helpful in the often cyclical automotive and industrial sectors.
Genuine Parts Company’s investor appeal is significantly bolstered by its impressive record of dividend payments. The company has paid out dividends without interruption for 76 years, and it has increased those distributions annually for 69 consecutive years to earn its Dividend King membership card. No. 69 was announced in February 2025, when GPC upped its dividend by 3% to $1.03 per share quarterly—a little less than half the profits it’s expected to bring in during 2026.
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1. Dover
— Sector: Industrials
— Market value: $29.5 billion
— Dividend yield: 1.0%
— Dividend-growth streak: 70 years
Established in 1955 and headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover (DOV) is a diversified global manufacturer, providing innovative equipment, components, and services across multiple industries, including energy, engineered systems, fluids, and refrigeration and food equipment.
The company’s strategic approach to diversification and its focus on industrial innovation have been central to its enduring financial performance. Dover provides everything from radio frequency and microwave filters for defense and aerospace firms to trash compactors and recycling balers. This wide variety of competencies has helped Dover weather the ups and downs of the competitive, cyclical industrial manufacturing industry.
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Dover has a long and storied history of consistent dividend payments that includes a seven-decade streak of annual payout increases, making it the S&P 500’s longest-paying Aristocrat and King.
DOV’s past few dividend bumps admittedly have been small—increases of roughly 1%, including a half-cent uptick announced in August 2025 to 52¢ per share quarterly. Still, Dover maintains an extremely conservative payout ratio that’s currently just 20% of estimated 2026 earnings, ensuring that rain or shine, the company should be able to afford its dividend while reinvesting most of its profits back into the business.
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What Is a Dividend Stock?
A dividend is a cash payment from a company to shareholders. Companies that regularly provide these cash payments are referred to as dividend stocks.
Often, investors favor dividend-paying stocks because, to regularly pay out those dividends, they have to generate consistent and significant profits—a good sign that the company is financially healthy and well-managed.
Investors also love dividends because they’re an additional source of returns. Stock prices simply don’t go up in a straight line over time; dividends can help smooth out periods of weak performance, and bolster periods of stronger price performance.
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What Is Dividend Yield?
Perhaps the most important metric in this universe is known as dividend yield. This is a simple financial ratio that tells you the percentage of a company’s share price that is paid out across a year’s worth of dividend distributions.
Expressed as a mathematical equation, it’s simply:
Dividend yield = annual dividend / price x 100
The idea here is to normalize dividend payments regardless of stock price, different quarterly payments, even different payment frequencies (like monthly or annually). For instance, each of the following fictional stocks all have a dividend yield of 2.5%:
— Alpha Corp. currently trades for $40 a share. It pays a 25-cent quarterly dividend, for $1.00 per year in full. ($1 / $40 x 100 = 2.5%)
— Beta Inc. pays $1 in the first quarter, $2 in Q2, $3 in Q3 and $4 in Q4. That’s $10 in dividends for the full year. It trades for $400 a share. ($10 / $400 x 100 = 2.5%)
— Gamma Ltd. pays $2.50 just once per year. It trades for $100 a share. ($2.50 / $100 x 100 = 2.5%)
The idea is to focus on the percent of your initial investment you get back, and help you compare apples to apples.
What Is a Payout Ratio?
As with dividend yield, it’s important to normalize the dividend payout ratio for a stock. This is simply the percentage of a company’s earnings per share that is being distributed via dividends. It’s calculated as:
Payout ratio = dividends per share / earnings per share x 100
As an example, a stock that makes $100 million in profits and has 10 million shares of public stock has $10 in earnings per share. And if that company pays $5 annually in dividends, it has a payout ratio of 50% ($5 / $10 x 100 = 50%).
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What Is Yield on Cost?
When you look up a stock’s information, the dividend yield listed is based on the most recent dividend and the current stock price.
That yield is often actually different than the one current shareholders enjoy. That yield is called “yield on cost,” which is the payout based on what you paid, at the moment you invested.
Let’s say you buy a stock at $100, and it pays $1 per share. It yields 1.0% when you buy it ($1 / $100 x 100 = 1.0%).
In a year, that stock has doubled to $200 per share, and it also doubled its dividend to $2 per share. If you look up its information, its dividend is still 1.0% ($2 / $200 x 100 = 1.0%).
That’s not your yield on cost, however. You’re still receiving that higher dividend of $2 per share. But your cost basis is still the original $100 you bought the share at. So now, your yield on cost has doubled, to 2.0% ($2 / $100 * 100 = 2.0%)!
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Vanguard’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are among the most popular funds out there thanks to their low fees. But there’s more appeal to their ETF lineup than low costs alone.
Vanguard ETFs are big, liquid, and tend to track well-constructed indexes, meaning you’re not just paying low expenses … you’re actually getting some value out of your fees. And these Vanguard ETFs represent the best of the best.
Related: 10 Best Monthly Dividend Stocks for Frequent, Regular Income
The vast majority of American dividend stocks pay regular, reliable payouts—and they do so at a more frequent clip (quarterly) than dividend stocks in most other countries (typically every six months or year).
Still, if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “it’d sure be nice to collect these dividends more often,” you don’t have to look far. While they’re not terribly common, American exchanges boast dozens of monthly dividend stocks.
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