Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA): A Dividend Aristocrat Held by Bill Gates
With 41 straight years of dividend increases, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is a favorite among many dividend growth investors and a member of the select group of 51 dividend aristocrats in the S&P 500. The stock is even a holding in Bill Gates' dividend portfolio here. Let's take a closer look at what has made Walgreens such a great business, one marked by very fast dividend growth (13.4% annual payout growth over the last 30 years), and see if this defensive stock is likely to continue generating double-digit total returns in the years to come. Walgreens' stock has trailed the S&P 500 by more than 10% over the past year and trades at a discount to the broader market, so today is a [...]
Brown-Forman (BF-B): America’s Whiskey King Is a Fast-Growing Dividend Aristocrat
Iconic brands can often make for solid long-term dividend growth investments, thanks to the wide competitive moats and strong pricing power that are created by brand loyalty. In fact, Warren Buffett's dividend portfolio consists of a number of companies with extremely well-known brands, from Apple to Heinz, Pampers, and Coca-Cola. Another great example of a company that benefits from the strength of its brands is Brown-Forman (BF.B), whose Jack Daniel's Whiskey has become synonymous with American culture. In fact, with 32 straight years of dividend growth under its belt (at an impressive growth rate of 9% annually), Brown-Forman is a dividend aristocrat, and one whose 21.2% annual total returns over the past three decades have vastly outperformed the broader [...]
SJW Group (SJW): One of the Best Dividend Kings in the Utility Sector
Dividend kings, those rarest of companies with 50+ years of consecutive dividend growth, can be a great place to start looking for relatively safe income investments. That's because most companies that not only survive for 50 years but thrive enough to reward investors with rising dividends often have solid fundamental characteristics, including an advantaged business model, a conservative management team, and a shareholder-friendly corporate culture. Let's take a look at SJW Corp (SJW), which is one of America's newest dividend kings with 50 consecutive years of payout growth. Unlike most companies in this group of large and popular blue chip stocks, this fast-growing water utility has a market cap below $2 billion and is not as well known. Business [...]
Intel (INTC): A Technology Giant Paying Uninterrupted Dividends Since 1992
Intel (INTC) has paid uninterrupted dividends since making its first payment in 1992, and income investors have enjoyed 10% annualized payout growth from the company over the past decade. Intel has long been one of the most dominant and pervasive technology companies in the world, essentially operating as a monopoly in its core computer and data center markets. While Intel has numerous competitive advantages that are hard to replicate and a very healthy dividend profile, it must contend with the fast-moving nature of the technology sector, especially in its core market of personal computers. Let's take a closer look at Intel's business to understand if its competitive advantages position the company to continue paying uninterrupted dividends well [...]
Franklin Resources (BEN): A Cheap Dividend Aristocrat or Value Trap?
When it comes to low-risk dividend investing, it's usually hard to go wrong with dividend aristocrats, those 51 S&P 500 companies that have managed to grow their payouts for at least 25 consecutive years. After all, such consistent growth generally requires that a company operate in a stable, growing, and wide moat business. As importantly, management needs to be conservative and take a long-term disciplined approach to growth, while continuously evolving the business in case the industry undergoes large and or rapid changes. However, as the saying goes, "past performance is no guarantee of future results." From time to time, secular technological or social shifts can occur that can make even mighty dividend aristocrats not worth owning. [...]
W.W. Grainger (GWW): 46 Straight Years of Dividend Growth and an All-Time High Yield
Industrial component wholesaler W.W. Grainger (GWW), with 46 consecutive years of rising dividends, is one of the venerable dividend aristocrats. Even more impressive is that Grainger has rewarded long-term dividend investors with impressive 11.5% annual dividend growth over the last three decades. Let's take a closer look at this dividend aristocrat to see whether or not it can continued its long-term double-digit dividend growth in the face of increasing competition from emerging rivals such as Amazon (AMZN). As importantly, learn whether or not Grainger could be a valuable long-term investment or a value trap with its dividend yield near its all-time high. Business Overview Founded in 1927 in Lake Forest, Illinois, W.W Grainger is North America's largest maintenance, repair, [...]
Crown Castle (CCI): The Highest-Yielding Stock Held by Bill Gates
Crown Castle (CCI) only began paying dividends in 2014, but the company currently offers income investors a dividend yield that's nearly twice as high as the market's with 7% to 8% annual dividend growth potential. More importantly, Crown Castle has an attractive business model with substantial recurring revenue, excellent free cash flow generation, substantial barriers to entry, and extremely high incremental margins. These are all likely reasons why Bill Gates' investment manager holds a meaningful stake in Crown Castle. You can view Bill Gates' complete dividend portfolio here. Let’s take a closer look at Crown Castle’s business to see if this company deserves to be in our list of the best high dividend stocks. Business Overview [...]
Chubb (CB): A Conservative Dividend Grower in the Insurance Industry
Chubb (CB) is one of the best managed insurance companies in the world and has increased its dividend for more than 20 consecutive years. Prior to the 2016 merger of Chubb and ACE (the largest merger ever in the history of the insurance industry), these companies had raised their dividends for 33 and 22 consecutive years, respectively. Chubb was even a member of the dividend aristocrats list. The insurance business can be a lucrative one, which is why Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns several of these businesses, including a couple in Buffett's dividend portfolio here. Let's take a closer look at Chubb to see if its future remains bright and if today could be a reasonable time to give [...]
Eaton (ETN): Paying Dividends Every Year for Nearly a Century
While Eaton (ETN) won't show up on the list of dividend aristocrats, the company has one of the most impressive dividend streaks in the world. Eaton has paid dividends every year for more than 90 years (dating back to 1923) and compounded its payout by more than 10% annually over the past decade. With a dividend yield near 3.4% and a forward P/E ratio below the broader market's, today is a reasonable time to take a closer look at Eaton to see if it could be one of the better high dividend stocks to consider. Business Overview Eaton is a large industrial conglomerate with approximately $20 billion in annual sales and an operating history dating back to 1911. [...]
Pentair (PNR): 40 Years of Dividend Increases and Double-Digit Payout Growth Potential
With 40 straight years of dividend growth under its belt, Pentair (PNR) is a dividend aristocrat that is just a decade away from joining an even more elite club, the dividend kings. Over the past three decades, Pentair shareholders have enjoyed dividend growth that's not only been remarkably consistent, but strong as well (8.9% annual payout growth). Let's take a closer look at this industrial blue chip to see what makes its business model so successful. More importantly, learn if Pentair and its upcoming spin off are likely to continue generating strong total returns and dividend growth for many years to come. Business Overview Founded in 1966 in London, England (with roots going back to [...]