Dividend Aristocrats
69Who are the Dividend Aristocrats? These are stocks which have increased their dividend payouts for the past consecutive 25 years. This is an elite grouping created and maintained by the rating agency, Standard & Poors. There are many familiar company names among this group, and there are also some that you may never have heard of. There are currently 52 stocks in this group.
Are Dividends Really That Important?
Dividends have been proven to significantly enhance investor returns. Here are some figures from 2 different time periods:
1. 1926 - 2004: Dividends accounted for 35% of shareholder returns. However, when you add in the effect of compounding, dividends returned over 25 times more than price appreciation.
2. 1986 - 2005: $1.00 invested in the S&P 500 had $.45 in price appreciation. If you include reinvested dividends, however, that $1.00 would have earned $8.09, 18 times as much as mere price appreciation.
2009 Q2 Dividend Aristocrats By Sector
STOCKS
| TICKER
| SECTOR
| 8/04/09 CLOSING PRICE
| CURRENT YIELD %
| ANNUAL DIVIDEND/SHARE
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
McDonald's Corporation
| MCD
| Consumer Discretionary
| $55.01
| 1.45%
| $0.80
|
Sherwin-Williams Company
| SHW
| Consumer Discretionary
| $60.73
| 2.34%
| $1.42
|
Family Dollar Stores, Inc.
| FDO
| Consumer Discretionary
| $31.06
| 1.80%
| $0.56
|
Target Corporation
| TGT
| Consumer Discretionary
| $42.17
| 1.61%
| $0.68
|
V.F. Corporation
| VFC
| Consumer Discretionary
| $66.12
| 3.57%
| $2.36
|
Lowe's Companies, Inc.
| LOW
| Consumer Discretionary
| $22.61
| 1.59%
| $0.36
|
Leggett & Platt, Inc.
| LEG
| Consumer Discretionary
| $17.76
| 5.63%
| $1.00
|
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
| MHP
| Consumer Discretionary
| $31.09
| 2.89%
| $0.90
|
The Stanley Works
| SWK
| Consumer Discretionary
| $41.40
| 3.09%
| $1.28
|
Johnson Controls, Inc.
| JCI
| Consumer Discretionary
| $26.76
| 1.94%
| $0.52
|
Gannett Co., Inc.
| GCI
| Consumer Discretionary
| $7.48
| 2.14%
| $0.16
|
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
| WMT
| Consumer Staples
| $49.85
| 2.19%
| $1.09
|
The Procter & Gamble Company
| PG
| Consumer Staples
| $55.46
| 3.17%
| $1.76
|
The Clorox Company
| CLX
| Consumer Staples
| $58.75
| 3.40%
| $2.00
|
The Coca-Cola Company
| KO
| Consumer Staples
| $49.50
| 3.31%
| $1.64
|
PepsiCo, Inc.
| PEP
| Consumer Staples
| $59.06
| 3.05%
| $1.80
|
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
| KMB
| Consumer Staples
| $59.15
| 4.06%
| $2.40
|
Walgreen Company
| WAG
| Consumer Staples
| $30.39
| 1.81%
| $0.55
|
SUPERVALU INC.
| SVU
| Consumer Staples
| $14.95
| 4.62%
| $0.69
|
Archer Daniels Midland Company
| ADM
| Consumer Staples
| $28.81
| 1.94%
| $0.56
|
Exxon Mobil Corporation
| XOM
| Energy
| $70.60
| 2.38%
| $1.68
|
The Chubb Corporation
| CB
| Financials
| $48.56
| 2.88%
| $1.40
|
Cincinnati Financial Corporation
| CINF
| Financials
| $25.00
| 6.24%
| $1.56
|
BB&T Corporation
| BBT
| Financials
| $23.66
| 2.54%
| $0.60
|
M&T Bank Corporation
| MTB
| Financials
| $58.99
| 4.75%
| $2.80
|
Legg Mason, Inc.
| LM
| Financials
| $27.82
| 0.43%
| $0.12
|
U.S. Bancorp
| USB
| Financials
| $21.70
| 0.92%
| $0.20
|
AFLAC Incorporated
| AFL
| Financials
| $39.85
| 2.81%
| $1.12
|
State Street Corporation
| STT
| Financials
| $54.07
| 0.07%
| $0.04
|
Abbott Laboratories
| ABT
| Health Care
| $44.30
| 3.61%
| $1.60
|
C.R. Bard, Inc.
| BCR
| Health Care
| $75.00
| 0.91%
| $0.68
|
Becton, Dickinson and Co.
| BDX
| Health Care
| $65.55
| 2.01%
| $1.32
|
Eli Lilly & Co.
| LLY
| Health Care
| $35.06
| 5.59%
| $1.96
|
Johnson & Johnson
| JNJ
| Health Care
| $61.06
| 3.21%
| $1.96
|
Pfizer Inc.
| PFE
| Health Care
| $16.07
| 3.98%
| $0.64
|
Pitney Bowes Inc.
| PBI
| Industrials
| $20.96
| 6.87%
| $1.44
|
Emerson Electric Co.
| EMR
| Industrials
| $36.12
| 3.65%
| $1.32
|
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
| GWW
| Industrials
| $90.36
| 2.04%
| $1.84
|
Dover Corporation
| DOV
| Industrials
| $34.68
| 2.88%
| $1.00
|
Avery Dennison Corporation
| AVY
| Industrials
| $27.23
| 6.02%
| $1.64
|
3M Company
| MMM
| Industrials
| $72.03
| 2.83%
| $2.04
|
General Electric Company
| GE
| Industrials
| $13.82
| 2.89%
| $0.40
|
Automatic Data Processing
| ADP
| Information Technology
| $37.93
| 3.48%
| $1.32
|
Bemis Company, Inc.
| BMS
| Materials
| $27.13
| 3.32%
| $0.90
|
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation
| SIAL
| Materials
| $52.51
| 1.10%
| $0.58
|
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
| APD
| Materials
| $74.63
| 2.41%
| $1.80
|
PPG Industries, Inc.
| PPG
| Materials
| $57.04
| 3.72%
| $2.12
|
CenturyTel, Inc.
| CTL
| Telecommunication Services
| $31.51
| 8.89%
| $2.80
|
Consolidated Edison, Inc.
| ED
| Utilities
| $39.50
| 5.97%
| $2.36
|
Questar Corporation
| STR
| Utilities
| $34.10
| 1.52%
| $0.52
|
Integrys Energy Group, Inc.
| TEG
| Utilities
| $34.23
| 0.47%
| $0.16
|
Einstein and Dividends
No, you don't need to be a physicist to understand how dividends work, but a quick anecdote about one of the world's most famous geniuses does help to shed some light on the power of this investment feature.
When asked which invention he thought was man's most amazing, Einstein reputedly said, "Compound Interest". Reinvesting dividends harnesses the power of compound interest for an investor's account, allowing their initial investment to grow much more quickly over time. Indeed, this is one of the greatest opportunities for kids - if you can get them interested in investing and saving money at a young age, they'll have the advantage of time working in their favor, as those dividends just keep compounding every year, year after year.
DRIP Plans - How to reinvest dividends
Many publicly traded companies have what's known as a DRIP, or Dividend Reinvestment Plan, through which they allow the public to purchase shares directly from the company, thereby saving brokerage commissions. The company will make sure that all of your dividends are reinvested.
I've listed a website below, in the links section, that supports a community of "drip" investors, and has helpful information about different plans, and how to get started.
Links: Stocks & Investing Sites
- CoveredCall
A page that explains covered call details, terms, and shows how to trade covered calls, using a step-by-step trade example. - Investing & Options Glossary
Options and Investing Glossary - Investing terms and definitions - The DRiP Investing Resource Center
The DRiP Investing Resource Center is a community of individuals sharing information about dividend reinvestment programs. - High Dividend Stocks
Easy ways to create and increase passive income with high dividend stocks and options. Articles about finding the best dividend stocks, locking in a high dividend yield, covered calls, covered puts, income investing, and value investing. - Selling Covered Calls
Selling covered calls is a technique used by many investors to increase their income yields on a given stock, and also to give them downside protection. Many investors immediately run away when they hear the...
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yamanote 2 years ago
I wasn't aware of this term - very useful. Its funny that BHathaway never pays dividends :-)