Technology investors are rotating into dividend stocks as a response to several growing market pressures. After years of chasing high-growth tech companies in a zero-interest-rate environment, many investors are now seeking more stable, income-generating assets amid economic uncertainty and falling interest rates. The spectacular run-up in tech valuations, particularly in AI-related stocks, has left many investors concerned about stretched valuations and the sustainability of growth narratives, prompting a defensive shift toward companies that can demonstrate profitability and return cash to shareholders. Especially since, according to Bloomberg, the Magnificent 7 are spending less on buybacks and more on capital expenditures.
Bloomberg also noted this in their article:
For most of the past three years, Big Tech had something to offer no matter the market environment: soaring profits in boom times, rock-solid balance sheets in times of stress. But that latter profile has taken a hit in recent weeks, as the likes of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) tap the credit market for billions to fund artificial intelligence projects. The result is the first sustained selloff for the group since April, with the Nasdaq 100 leading the broader market lower as investors ditch tech winners in favor of more defensive stocks. One of the beneficiaries: companies with juicy dividend payments. That group, which includes old-economy stalwarts, is often coveted when riskier stocks start to look expensive. They also tend to be calmer in times of turbulence. The Cboe Volatility Index jumped above 24 on Tuesday (11/18), surpassing its long-term average of 19.
Blue-chip stocks are shares of large, well-established, financially stable companies with a consistent and reliable performance history. They are often considered less risky and are a popular choice for long-term investors. Additionally, nearly all leaders in the category pay dependable, recurring dividends each quarter, regardless of the state of the economy. The term “blue chip” originated in poker, where the highest-value chip is blue. We screened our 24/7 Wall St. blue-chip dividend stock database, and six top stocks remain outstanding ideas, all rated Buy on Wall Street.
Why do we cover blue-chip dividend stocks?
Investors love dividend stocks, especially the blue-chip variety, because they offer a significant income stream and have massive total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation.
AT&T
The world’s fourth-largest telecommunications company, measured by revenue, has been undergoing a lengthy restructuring while lowering its dividend, which still stands at a rich 4.34%. Eighteen analysts have given AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) stock a Buy rating, indicating comprehensive Wall Street support. The company provides a range of telecommunications, media, and technology services worldwide. Its Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services.
AT&T sells through its company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores:
- Handsets
- Wireless data cards
- Wireless computing devices
- Carrying cases
- Hands-free devices
AT&T also provides:
- Data
- Voice
- Security
- Cloud solutions
- Outsourcing
- Managed and provided professional services
- Customer premises equipment for multinational corporations, small and mid-sized businesses, and governmental and wholesale customers
Additionally, this segment provides residential customers with fiber broadband and legacy voice telephony services.
It markets its communications services and products under:
- AT&T
- Cricket
- AT&T PREPAID
- AT&T Fiber
The company’s Latin America segment provides wireless services in Mexico and video services in Latin America. This segment markets its services and products under the AT&T and Unefon brands.
UBS has a Buy rating with a $31 target price.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, and other therapeutic areas. This remains a solid pharmaceutical stock to own in the long term, offering an attractive entry point with a reliable dividend yield of 5.10%.
The company beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.63 per share in adjusted earnings and $12.2 billion in revenue. The strong performance was driven by an 18% year-over-year increase in its growth portfolio, which includes drugs such as Opdivo, Reblozyl, Breyanzi, and Camzyos, and by a 25% increase in Eliquis sales. The company also raised its full-year 2025 sales outlook.
Its platforms comprise chemically synthesized or small-molecule drugs, including protein degraders, as well as biologics produced through biological processes. These platforms also encompass ADCs, CAR-T cell therapies, and radiopharmaceutical therapeutics.
Small-molecule drugs are typically administered orally in tablet or capsule form, although other drug-delivery mechanisms are also used. Biologics are usually administered by injection or intravenous infusion. CAR-T cell therapies are administered by intravenous infusion.
Its growth portfolio includes:
- Opdivo
- Opdivo Qvantig
- Orencia
- Yervoy
- Reblozyl
- Opdualag
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s legacy portfolio includes:
- Eliquis
- Revlimid
- Pomalyst/Imnovid
- Sprycel
- Abraxane
Jefferies has a Buy rating with a $68 target price.
Chevron
This American multinational energy company predominantly specializes in oil and gas. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector, paying a substantial 4.42% dividend, which was raised by 5% earlier this year. It operates integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide and offers investors excellent credit ratings (AA), diversified operations, strong margins, and a long history of paying and raising dividends yearly.
The company operates in two segments. The Upstream segment is involved in the following:
- Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
- Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
- Transportation of crude oil through pipelines, and transportation, storage
- Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant
The Downstream segment engages in:
- Refining crude oil into petroleum products
- Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
- Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
- Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
- Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives
It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses.
Chevron announced in late 2023 that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hess in an all-stock transaction valued at $53 billion, or $171 per share based on Chevron’s closing price on October 20, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 shares of Chevron for each Hess share. The transaction’s total enterprise value, including debt, is $60 billion. The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal in October; it closed in July, providing a solid boost to Chevron’s third-quarter earnings, which exceeded analysts’ expectations. The company reported earnings of $1.85 per share, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $1.73, and revenue of $49.73 billion, surpassing the forecast of $49.50 billion.
UBS has a Buy rating with a huge $197 target price.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It remains a top long-time holding of Warren Buffett, who owns a massive 400 million shares. It pays a dependable 2.85% dividend and is the world’s largest beverage company, offering consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands.
Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, the company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including:
- Diet Coke
- Coca-Cola Light
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Caffeine-free Diet Coke
- Cherry Coke
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Zero Orange
- Fanta Zero Sugar
- Fanta Apple
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero Sugar
- Simply Orange
- Simply Apple
- Simply Grapefruit
- Fresca
- Schweppes
- Dasani
- Fuze Tea
- Glacéau Smartwater
- Glacéau Vitaminwater
- Gold Peak
- Ice Dew
- Powerade
- Topo Chico
- Minute Maid
Globally, it is the top provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, juices, and juice drinks.
Through the world’s most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day. It’s also important to remember that the company owns 16.7% of Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), which continues to deliver big numbers.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $80 target price.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is the fifth-largest bank in the world by assets. Its stock trades at a reasonable 12.5 times estimated 2026 earnings, with a 1.73% dividend yield. JPMorgan is one of the leading global financial services firms and one of the largest U.S. banks, with about $3.9 trillion in assets. The company was formed by merging Chase Manhattan’s retail banking operations with J.P. Morgan’s investment banking operations.
The company operates through four segments:
- Consumer & Community Banking (CCB)
- Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB)
- Commercial Banking (CB)
- Asset & Wealth Management (AWM)
The CCB segment offers:
- Deposit, investment, and lending products
- Cash management, payments, and services
- Mortgage origination and servicing activities
- Residential mortgages and home equity loans
Credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services are offered to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.
The CIB segment provides:
- Investment banking products and services, including corporate strategy and structure advisory
- Equity and debt market capital-raising services
- Loan origination and syndication
- Payments
- Cash and derivative instruments
- Risk management solutions
- Prime brokerage
- Research
This segment also offers securities services, including custody, fund accounting and administration, and securities lending products for asset managers, insurance companies, and public and private investment funds.
The CB segment provides financial solutions, including lending, payments, investment banking, and asset management, to small and midsized companies, local governments, nonprofit clients, and large corporations, as well as investors, developers, and owners of multifamily, office, retail, industrial, and affordable housing properties.
The AWM segment offers multi-asset investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market funds to institutional clients and retail investors. It also provides brokerage, custody, estate planning, lending, deposits, and investment management products, as well as retirement products and services, to high-net-worth clients.
Wells Fargo has an Overweight rating with a monster $350 price target.
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was founded more than 185 years ago as a soap-and-candle company. It has paid dividends to shareholders since 1891, raised them for 69 straight years, and currently pays a 2.79% dividend. The company focuses on providing branded consumer packaged goods worldwide.
Its segments include:
- Beauty
- Grooming
- Health Care
- Fabric & Home Care
- Baby
- Feminine & Family Care
The company’s products are sold in approximately 180 countries and territories primarily through mass merchandisers, e-commerce, including social commerce channels, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, department stores, distributors, wholesalers, specialty beauty stores, including airport duty-free stores, high-frequency stores, pharmacies, electronics stores, and professional channels. It also sells directly to individual consumers. It has operations in approximately 70 countries.
Procter & Gamble offers products under such brands as:
- Head & Shoulders
- Herbal Essences
- Pantene
- Rejoice
- Olay
- Old Spice
- Safeguard
- Secret
- SK-II
- Braun
- Gillette
- Venus
- Crest
- Oral-B
- Ariel
- Downy
- Gain
- Tide
- Always
- Always Discreet
- Tampax
- Bounty
Raymond James has an Outperform rating with a $175 price objective.
Goldman Sachs Adds Two Stocks to November Conviction List That Offer Dividends and Growth