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As part of building your dividend income portfolio, you may be looking at stocks with long dividend payment histories. Let’s take a look at the Dividend Kings vs Dividend Aristocrats. Which stocks are on the lists? And why certain stocks are not on both.
Stocks with long histories of dividend payments can be great additions to your dividend income portfolio. Have you heard of the Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats? They are both lists of stocks with very long histories of consecutive dividend payments.
Beyond a simple benchmark of how many years these stocks have been consecutively increasing their dividend payments, there are a few other differences to consider.
One quick note I should mention. I’m not a licensed financial planner or financial advisor. The content on this website should be considered for information purposes and should not be considered investment advice. Always do your own research before making financial decisions. Or check with your favorite financial professional for additional information on what’s best to do for your situation.
What are Dividend Kings?
Dividend King is a stock with 50 years or more of consecutive dividend increases. Unlike the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, this list of companies is not officially tracked by a ratings companies.
The companies included as dividend kings on the list below focuses on companies headquartered in the United States. The list will change depending on the country you’re looking to focus on.
What are Dividend Aristocrats?
A Dividend Aristocrat is a stock with 25 years or more of consecutive dividend increases and is part of the S&P 500. This list of stocks is officially tracked by the ratings company.
For the Dividend Aristocrats, they need to participate in the economy of the United States, but not be headquartered here.
Why some of the Dividend Kings are not on the Dividend Aristocrats list?
Not all Dividend Kings are also Dividend Aristocrats because are not required to be on the S&P 500 list. After comparing the 25 US Dividend Kings:
- 14 are Dividend Aristocrats list
- 11 are not also Dividend Aristocrats
And as some of the Dividend Aristocrats continue to pay dividends into their 50th year, they might not be included on the United States Dividend King list. It will depend on where the company is headquartered.
Dividends from companies headquartered outside of the United States could have some tax implications, assuming you’re also a US resident. Double-check with your favorite tax professional for more information on how this might apply to your situation.
Before you buy shares either a Dividend Aristocrat or Dividend King company
You’ve probably heard the old saying, past results don’t guarantee future performance. So while these stocks have long histories of paying dividends, there is no guaranty of future increases or payments forever.
These companies have weathered difficult economic and market conditions in the past. Usually, the companies goal is to pay dividends as long as they can as they know it affects the stock price. But market conditions cannot be predicted, nor can mergers and acquisitions.
Make sure you always research the company prior to purchasing stock to make sure it’s the right stock to buy at the moment. And keep an eye on the company in the future. Even though your investment strategy may be buy-and-hold long-term, sometimes there are indicators it’s time to sell that stock.
With all of that said, let’s start looking at the list of Dividend Aristocrats vs Dividend Kings
List of Dividend Kings vs Dividend Aristocrats
In total, there are 67 stocks on the combined list of US Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats. Here is the aligned list showing the symbol, company name, sector, growth streak, and how they’re categorized.
| Symbol | Company Name | Sector | Dividend Aristocrat | Dividend King | Growth Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMM | 3M Company | Industrials | Yes | Yes | 60 |
| AOS | A.O. Smith | Industrials | Yes | 25 | |
| ABT | Abbott Laboratories | Health Care | Yes | 46 | |
| ABBV | AbbVie Inc. | Health Care | Yes | 46 | |
| ABM | ABM Industries Incorporated | Industrials | Yes | 51 | |
| AFL | AFLAC Inc. | Financials | Yes | 37 | |
| APD | Air Products & Chemicals Inc | Materials | Yes | 36 | |
| AWR | American States Water Company | Utilities | Yes | 64 | |
| ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Co | Consumer Staples | Yes | 43 | |
| T | AT&T | Communication Services | Yes | 35 | |
| ADP | Automatic Data Processing | Information Technology | Yes | 44 | |
| BDX | Becton Dickinson | Health Care | Yes | 47 | |
| BF.B | Brown-Forman (Class B shares) | Consumer Staples | Yes | 35 | |
| CWT | California Water Services Group | Utilities | Yes | 51 | |
| CAH | Cardinal Health Inc. | Health Care | Yes | 32 | |
| CAT | Caterpillar Inc. | Industrials | Yes | 25 | |
| CVX | Chevron Corp. | Energy | Yes | 31 | |
| CB | Chubb Limited | Financials | Yes | 25 | |
| CINF | Cincinnati Financial Corp | Financials | Yes | Yes | 59 |
| CTAS | Cintas Corp | Industrials | Yes | 36 | |
| KO | Coca-Cola Co | Consumer Staples | Yes | Yes | 57 |
| CL | Colgate-Palmolive | Consumer Staples | Yes | Yes | 56 |
| ED | Consolidated Edison Inc | Utilities | Yes | 45 | |
| DOV | Dover Corp | Industrials | Yes | Yes | 63 |
| ECL | Ecolab Inc | Materials | Yes | 26 | |
| EMR | Emerson Electric | Industrials | Yes | Yes | 62 |
| XOM | Exxon Mobil Corp | Energy | Yes | 37 | |
| FMCB | Famers & Merchants Bancorp | Financials | Yes | 54 | |
| FRT | Federal Realty Investment Trust | Real Estate | Yes | Yes | 51 |
| BEN | Franklin Resources | Financials | Yes | 39 | |
| GD | General Dynamics | Industrials | Yes | 27 | |
| GPC | Genuine Parts Company | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | Yes | 63 |
| HRL | Hormel Foods Corp | Consumer Staples | Yes | Yes | 52 |
| ITW | Illinois Tool Works | Industrials | Yes | 44 | |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Health Care | Yes | Yes | 57 |
| KMB | Kimberly-Clark | Consumer Staples | Yes | 47 | |
| LANC | Lancaster Colony Corporation | Consumer Staples | Yes | 56 | |
| LEG | Leggett & Platt | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | 46 | |
| LIN | Linde plc | Materials | Yes | 25 | |
| LOW | Lowe’s Companies, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | Yes | 55 |
| MKC | McCormick & Company | Consumer Staples | Yes | 33 | |
| MCD | McDonald’s | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | 43 | |
| MDT | Medtronic | Health Care | Yes | 41 | |
| NDSN | Nordson Corporation | Industrials | Yes | 55 | |
| NWN | Northwest Natural Holding Company | Utilities | Yes | 63 | |
| NUE | Nucor | Materials | Yes | 46 | |
| O | Realty Income | Real Estate | Yes | 25 | |
| PH | Parker-Hannifin Corporation | Industrials | Yes | 62 | |
| PNR | Pentair | Industrials | Yes | 42 | |
| PBCT | People’s United Financial | Financials | Yes | 26 | |
| PEP | PepsiCo | Consumer Staples | Yes | 46 | |
| PPG | PPG Industries | Materials | Yes | 47 | |
| PG | Procter & Gamble | Consumer Staples | Yes | Yes | 63 |
| ROP | Roper Technologies | Industrials | Yes | 26 | |
| SPGI | S&P Global (formerly McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.) | Financials | Yes | 45 | |
| SHW | Sherwin-Williams | Materials | Yes | 40 | |
| SJW | SJW Grroup (DE) | Utilities | Yes | 51 | |
| SWK | Stanley Black & Decker Inc. | Industrials | Yes | Yes | 51 |
| SCL | Stepan Company | Materials | Yes | 51 | |
| SYY | Sysco | Consumer Staples | Yes | 49 | |
| TROW | T. Rowe Price | Financials | Yes | 32 | |
| TGT | Target Corporation | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | Yes | 51 |
| CLX | The Clorox Company | Consumer Staples | Yes | 41 | |
| TR | Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. | Consumer Staples | Yes | 53 | |
| VFC | VF Corporation | Consumer Discretionary | Yes | 46 | |
| GWW | W. W. Grainger | Industrials | Yes | 48 | |
| WBA | Walgreens Boots Alliance | Consumer Staples | Yes | 43 | |
| WMT | Walmart | Consumer Staples | Yes | 45 |
Of the stocks lists above, the following 11 companies are both considered US Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats:
- 3M Company (MMM) (60 years)
- Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF) (59 years)
- Coca-Cola Co (KO) (57 years)
- Colgate-Palmolive (CL) (56 years)
- Dover Corp (DOV) (63 years)
- Emerson Electric (EMR) (62 years)
- Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) (51 years)
- Genuine Parts Company (GPC) (63 years)
- Hormel Foods Corp (HRL) (52 years)
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) (57 years)
- Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW) (55 years)
- Procter & Gamble (PG) (63 years)
- Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) (51 years)
- Target Corporation (TGT) (51 years)
Wrapping up. What are your thoughts on the Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings?
On the combined list, there are 68 stocks including the US Dividend Kings and S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. These stocks can be an interesting first place to check for ideas to build a dividend portfolio. While there is no guaranty of future dividend payments, there’s a better probability of a continued trend if market conditions and company health hold.
Are you considering any of the stocks for your portfolio?
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