If you’re looking for a list of the best dividend paying stocks to invest in, you’ve found it.
The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats list is monitored closely by investors who prefer stocks that pay dividends. Each of the companies on the list has demonstrated a consistent and long term policy of dividend growth.
In order to be included on the Dividend Aristocrats list, a company must be a member of the S&P 500, have a market capitalization of $3 billion, and an average trading volume of $5 million. Most importantly, they must have increased dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years.
It should be noted that even though these companies have all demonstrated a commitment to dividend growth, there is no guarantee they won’t freeze or eliminate their dividend in the future. Companies are occasionally dropped from the list if they fail to increase dividends or if they are delisted from the S&P 500 index due to a merger or to make room for other stocks to join the index.
In recent years, companies like General Electric (GE) and CenturyLink (CTL) were removed from the list. But other dividend paying companies were added to the list as they met the indexing criteria.
The good news is that the companies who remain managed to continue increasing dividends despite the recession and difficult economic times we have faced. In my opinion that strength makes them some of the best dividend paying stocks you can choose from.
Current Dividend Aristocrats List
This list is current for 2013. We’ll update it whenever a company is dropped from the list or when new dividend companies are added.
| Company Name | Stock Symbol |
| 3M Co | MMM |
| AFLAC Inc | AFL |
| AT&T Inc | T |
| AbbVie Inc. | ABBV |
| Abbott Laboratories | ABT |
| Air Products & Chemicals Inc | APD |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Co | ADM |
| Automatic Data Processing | ADP |
| Bard C.R. Inc | BCR |
| Becton Dickinson & Co | BDX |
| Bemis Co Inc | BMS |
| Brown-Forman Corp B | BF/B |
| Chubb Corp | CB |
| Cincinnati Financial Corp | CINF |
| Cintas Corp | CTAS |
| Clorox Co | CLX |
| Coca-Cola Co | KO |
| Colgate-Palmolive Co | CL |
| Consolidated Edison Inc | ED |
| Dover Corp | DOV |
| Ecolab Inc | ECL |
| Emerson Electric Co | EMR |
| Exxon Mobil Corp | XOM |
| Family Dollar Stores Inc | FDO |
| Franklin Resources Inc | BEN |
| Genuine Parts Co | GPC |
| Grainger W.W. Inc | GWW |
| HCP Inc | HCP |
| Hormel Foods Corp | HRL |
| Illinois Tool Works Inc | ITW |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ |
| Kimberly-Clark | KMB |
| Leggett & Platt | LEG |
| Lowe’s Cos Inc | LOW |
| McCormick & Co | MKC |
| McDonald’s Corp | MCD |
| McGraw-Hill Cos Inc | MHP |
| Medtronic Inc | MDT |
| Nucor Corp | NUE |
| PPG Industries Inc | PPG |
| PepsiCo Inc | PEP |
| Pitney Bowes Inc | PBI |
| Procter & Gamble | PG |
| Sherwin-Williams Co | SHW |
| Sigma-Aldrich Corp | SIAL |
| Stanley Black & Decker | SWK |
| Sysco Corp | SYY |
| T Rowe Price Group Inc | TROW |
| Target Corp | TGT |
| VF Corp | VFC |
| Wal-Mart Stores | WMT |
| Walgreen Co | WAG |
Some people look at the Dividend Aristocrats and say “Wow, what a boring bunch of companies.”
While you may not get the same growth potential that you would out of a fast-paced tech stock, these companies have stood the test of time and most are protected by wide moats. Their longevity and commitment to growth makes them some of the best dividend paying stocks you can find.