Blue chip drug makers such as Merck (MRK) have historically been very popular with income investors because of their defensive nature, meaning that drug demand isn't really affected by economic downturns. However, what many investors fail to realize is that, while the pharmaceutical industry as a whole may be recession resistant, successful long-term dividend [...]
One of Warren Buffett's best pieces of investment advice is that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." This is why each quarter, when Berkshire Hathaway reveals its portfolio via regulatory filings, investors eagerly look to see what companies have the Oracle [...]
Even blue chip dividend stocks can fall on hard times, especially when they operate in highly cyclical industries that depend on volatile commodity prices. Such was the case with Caterpillar (CAT), which despite an impressive track record of growing its dividend at an average rate of 11% over the past 20 years, was forced [...]
In today's era of historically low interest rates, telecom service providers such as AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) are often viewed as some of the best high dividend stocks for income thanks to their highly stable, recession-resistant, and subscriber-based business models. While that may be a good strategy for blue chip names in the industry, [...]
Accenture (ACN) has raised its dividend every year since it began paying one in 2005, recording annualized dividend growth en excess of 20% during that time period. With healthy payout ratios, excellent free cash flow generation, a clean balance sheet, and proven durability, Accenture is well-positioned to continue rewarding shareholders with strong dividend growth in the [...]
Sometimes, the most boring, under-the-radar businesses prove to be the best long-term investments, and Broadridge Financial could be one of them. In fact, Broadridge was called "the most important firm on Wall Street that you've never heard of" by Dick Grasso, the former CEO and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Paying [...]
Knowing how much patience to exercise with an underperforming holding is one of the hardest (and often most humbling) challenges in investing, in my opinion. As a long-term dividend growth investor, when I purchase shares of a company, I hope to hold my ownership stake forever and keep portfolio turnover as low as possible. [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, are a simple way for regular investors to gain exposure to the real estate sector. While there are many different types of REITs to choose from, healthcare in particular has strong long-term potential growth due to highly favorable demographic trends. Let's take a look at Welltower (HCN), America's largest medical REIT, to [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, can serve as a convenient way for regular investors to profit from rental real estate while also generating income for those seeking to live off dividends in retirement. Realty Income (O) has become famous for its generous, secure, and steadily growing dividends (23 straight years of increases and counting), [...]
With its 25th straight annual dividend increase, General Dynamics (GD) has finally joined the dividend aristocrats list here. However, even more impressive than the length of this streak is the torrid pace of payout growth GD investors have enjoyed. Specifically, the company has grown its dividend at 14.1% annually since 1992, helping General Dynamics' shares [...]
When it comes to safe high dividend stocks, generally you want to stick to companies with numerous competitive advantages and operations in industries that consistently grow. Thus automakers like Ford (F) are typically not where most investors look for such income investments. However, with Ford shares now beaten down and offering an attractive [...]
You probably use several products every day that are touched by International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), a dividend achiever that has raised its payout every year since 2003. The company has a presence in thousands of consumer products, yet it has largely flown under the radar operating in the chemicals industry. Boring, durable businesses that [...]
One of the big questions many dividend investors face early on is whether or not it's worth managing a portfolio of individual dividend stocks instead of keeping things easy and buying a dividend ETF. In fact, I recently emailed with a reader who was interested in comparing the performance of our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio [...]
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) is a fast-growing real estate investment trust (REIT) that has raised its dividend every year since going public in 2004. While the company is still far from having a long enough dividend growth history to qualify as a member of the dividend aristocrats list, it has numerous attractive qualities for [...]
Dividend aristocrats, such as Cardinal Health (CAH), have long been a staple in dividend growth investors' portfolios, and for very good reason. Nothing says "stable, growing, and healthy business" like 25+ years of consecutive dividend growth. With 30 straight years of very impressive 19.7% average annual payout increases, Cardinal Health has proven itself as [...]