At 24/7 Wall St., we have focused on dividend stocks for over 15 years because, despite the stock market’s ups and downs, many people need solid passive income streams to supplement their income from employment or other sources. With many on Wall Street predicting that the S&P 500 will hit 7,000 by year-end, others have already voiced concerns about the pace of the three-year-old rally that began in late 2022 with the introduction of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI. The introduction triggered a landslide of AI spending and deal-making that has reached levels reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. While everybody is wildly bullish, it makes sense now to move some of your stock portfolio to the safest Dividend Kings.
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- With the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, many feel another cut could be on the way in December.
- The Dividend Kings are among the best ideas for growth and income investors seeking dependable and rising income as rates fall.
- Top voices at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have warned of a potential correction after the huge run from this year’s April lows. Moving to the safest Dividend Kings makes sense now.
- Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset’s free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don’t waste another minute; learn more here.(Sponsor)
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The Dividend Kings are the 55 companies that have raised their dividends for 50 years or more, a testament to their dependability and reliability. Those are two “must-have” items for investors who rely on passive income to boost their overall revenue. Unlike the Dividend Aristocrats, the Dividend Kings do not have to be members of the S&P 500. We screened the list for stocks that investors may need to become more familiar with as the market zooms to all-time highs seemingly every week—and identified five top companies that pay substantial dividends and offer investors a solid source of passive income, and are among the safest picks in the group based on dividend safety scores, financial stability, and strong business fundamentals.
Why we recommend the Dividend Kings
Companies that have paid and raised dividends for 50 years or more are the kinds of stocks that growth and income investors want to buy and hold in stock portfolios forever. These stocks are very conservative, and should we see a dramatic market correction, they will likely hold their ground much better than volatile technology names.
Johnson & Johnson
This multinational American corporation specializes in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. With shares trading at 14.5 times forward earnings and paying a 2.64% dividend, this diversified healthcare giant is a strong buy at current prices. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is among the most conservative of the major pharmaceutical companies, with a diverse product portfolio and a familiar, solid brand. This healthcare giant has 63 years of consecutive dividend increases and has streamlined its business by divesting its consumer products division in 2023, now focusing exclusively on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
It operates through two segments:
- Innovative Medicine
- MedTech
The Innovative Medicine segment is focused on various therapeutic areas, including:
- Immunology
- Infectious diseases
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Products in this segment are distributed directly to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.
The MedTech segment encompasses a diverse portfolio of products used in orthopedics, surgery, interventional solutions, cardiovascular intervention, and vision care. It also offers a commercially available intravascular lithotripsy platform for the treatment of coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease.
Goldman Sachs has a $232 target price.
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 70 straight years, and currently pays a 2.72% dividend. Procter & Gamble focuses on providing branded consumer packaged goods worldwide.
The company’s 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 these brands and others, such 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 target price.
PepsiCo
This top consumer staples stock reported surprisingly solid second-quarter earnings and will continue to supply all the goods for football tailgates and parties while paying a solid 3.63% dividend. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company with products split roughly 60-40 between food and beverage revenue, and balanced geographically between the U.S. and the rest of the world, providing diversification and stability.
Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:
- Lays and Ruffles potato chips
- Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
- Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
- Fritos corn chips
The company’s Quaker Foods North America segment provides:
- Quaker Oatmeal
- Grits
- Rice cakes
- Natural granola and oat squares
- Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
- Quaker Chewy granola bars
- Cap’n Crunch cereal
- Life cereal
- Rice-A-Roni side dishes
PepsiCo’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:
- Pepsi
- Gatorade
- Mountain Dew
- Diet Pepsi
- Aquafina
- Diet Mountain Dew
- Tropicana Pure Premium
- Sierra Mist
- Mug brands
Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating with a $167 target price.
Walmart
This company, founded in 1945, is the world’s largest retailer, with over 10,000 stores offering groceries, health products, and general merchandise. It also has a strong e-commerce platform and a 0.83% dividend. Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a technology-powered omnichannel retailer that extended its dividend growth streak to 52 consecutive years with a 13% dividend increase in February 2025, and its strong grocery operations make it safer than many other retailers.
Walmart operates retail and wholesale stores and clubs, as well as e-commerce websites and mobile applications, throughout the United States, Africa, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India, and Mexico.
It operates in three reportable segments:
- Walmart U.S.
- Walmart International
- Sam’s Club U.S.
The Walmart U.S. segment includes the company’s mass merchandising concept in the U.S., as well as e-commerce, which provides omni-channel initiatives and other specific business offerings such as advertising services.
The Walmart International segment consists of the company’s operations outside of the U.S. through its subsidiaries, as well as e-commerce and omni-channel initiatives.
The Sam’s Club U.S. segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the U.S., as well as samsclub.com and omni-channel initiatives.
UBS has a Buy rating with a $122 target price.
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED) is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States. This old-school utility stock offers income investors the stability and track record many seek today, and it pays a strong 3.24% dividend. Consolidated Edison, through its subsidiaries, Consolidated Edison Company of New York (CECONY), Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R), and Con Edison Transmission, provides a range of energy-related products and services to its customers.
CECONY is a regulated utility providing electric service in New York City and New York’s Westchester County, gas service in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and parts of Westchester, and steam service in Manhattan.
O&R and its utility subsidiary, Rockland Electric Company, provide electric service to customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey, a 1,300-square-mile service area.
O&R delivers gas to customers in southeastern New York.
Con Edison Transmission primarily falls under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and, through joint ventures, manages both electric and gas assets while seeking to develop electric transmission projects.
Mizuho has an Outperform rating with a $112 price target.
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