Stocks Under Consideration -MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP. (NYSE:MPC), NIELSEN HOLDINGS PLC (NYSE:NLSN), METLIFE INC (NYSE:MET), CONTINENTAL RESOURCES INC. (NYSE:CLR), XILINX, INC. (NASDAQ:XLNX)
Many longterm investor follow a dividend-growth investing strategy which requires investment in the stocks of companies that not only pay dividends, but consistently increase their dividends from year to year. The goal is to create a sustainable, rising stream of dividend income that will eventually allow me to be financially secure in retirement. It is a known fact that owning high quality companies with a consistent dividend policy produces superior longer term returns versus the averages, especially when considering risk. Dividend paying, high quality companies tend to have stable business models which perform well in both good and bad economic times. These types of companies produce returns that are less volatile than the overall stock market.
The important indication of dividend power is not so much a high dividend yield but high company quality, which you can discover through its history of dividends, which should increase over time. If you are a long-term investor, looking for such companies can be very rewarding.
The following stocks have lifted dividends each year for several years in a row.
MARATHON PETROLEUM has been paying dividends since 2011 and has raised their dividend for 5 consecutive years. It has a dividend yield of 2.70% and a 5 year dividend growth rate of 3.50%. Their payout ratio is 63.00%.
NIELSEN HOLDINGS first paid dividend in 2013 and has increased their dividend for 1 straight years. They have a dividend yield of 3.50% and a 5 year dividend growth rate of 0.00%.
METLIFE has been paying dividends since 2000 and has increased their dividend for 4 years in a row. Their dividend yield is 3.10% and their 5 year dividend growth rate is 2.90%.
CONTINENTAL RESOURCES started paying dividend in N/A and has lifted their dividend for N/A years. Their dividend yield is N/A and their 5 year dividend growth rate is N/A.
XILINX announced dividend for the first time in 2001 and has increased their dividend every year for the last 12 years. Their dividend yield is 2.10% and their 5 year dividend growth rate is 2.40%.