Dividend Aristocrats – 25+ Years of Dividend Growth

What are Dividend Aristocrats?

A dividend aristocrat is a member of the S&P 500 index and has consistently raised their dividends for at least 25 years, demonstrating their ability to consistently pay dividends to shareholders.

Moreover, these often high-quality companies usually offer recession-proof products which enable them to maintain profits and dividends during even the harshest of economic times.

Dividend Aristocrats vs. Dividend Kings

Dividend Kings are companies who have increased their dividends consecutively for at least 50 years. Additionally, Dividend Kings do not have the requirement of being part of the S&P 500. Currently, there are over 60 dividend aristocrats, but less than 50 dividend kings.

Are Dividend Aristocrats Good Investments?

A company with an increasing dividend may be a good investment choice for investors seeking stable income. The ability to consistently increase dividends for over 25 years often indicates a firm’s financial stability. However, dividends are cash payments to shareholders, which as a result, are not reinvested into the business.

A high dividend payout may indicate management’s reluctance to reinvest in a company due to lack of growth opportunities or failing to identify other opportunities to redirect profits.

Company management may use dividends to reassure investors when their stock isn’t growing, but a dividend aristocrat must maintain growth to fund these payments in the future.

Dividend Aristocrats Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) – NOBL

The Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) aims to track the performance of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index before fees and expenses.

NOBL is the sole ETF focused exclusively on tracking the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats.

Dividend Aristocrats Index Sectors — Source: ProShares S&P 500 Dividend
Aristocrats ETF

NOBL targets companies who are members of the S&P 500, have increased dividend payments for at least 25 years, and meet market capitalization and liquidity requirements. The Index consists of a minimum of 40 equally weighted stocks, with no single sector allowed to comprise more than 30% of the weight. If there are fewer than 40 stocks with 25 consecutive years of dividend growth or sector caps are breached, the Index includes companies with shorter dividend growth histories.

Dividend Aristocrats List (Sector & Years of Dividend Increases) – Updated 2024

Consumer Discretionary

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Genuine Parts Company	GPC	67
Lowe’s	LOW	63
Target	TGT	52
McDonald’s	MCD	47

Consumer Discretionary – Aristocrats

Consumer Staples

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Procter & Gamble	PG	67
Coca-Cola	KO	61
Colgate-Palmotive	CL	61
Hormel Foods	HRL	58
Sysco	SYY	54
Kimberly-Clark	KMB	51
PepsiCo	PEP	51
Walmart	WMT	50
Archer Daniels Midland	ADM	48
Clorox	CLX	46
Brown-Forman	BF.B	39
McCormick & Company	MKC	38
Church & Dwight	CHD	27
J.M. Smucker	SJM	27

Consumer Staples – Aristocrats

Energy

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Exxon Mobil	XOM	41
Chevron	CVX	36

Energy – Aristocrats

Financials

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Cincinnati Financial	CINF	63
S&P Global	SPGI	50
Franklin Resources	BEN	43
Aflac	AFL	41
T. Rowe Price	TROW	37
Brown & Brown	BRO	31
Chubb	CB	30

Financials – Aristocrats

Healthcare

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	61
Kenvue	KVUE	61
Abbott	ABT	52
AbbVie	ABBV	52
Becton Deckinson	BDX	51
Medtronic	MDT	45
Cardinal Health	CAH	38
West Pharmaceutical Services	WST	31

Healthcare – Aristocrats

Industrial

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Dover	DOV	68
Emerson Electric	EMR	66
Nordson	NDSN	61
Stanley Black & Decker	SWK	56
Illinois Tool Works	ITW	52
W.W. Grainger	GWW	52
Pentair	PNR	47
Cintas	CTAS	41
General Dynamics	GD	32
Roper Technologies	ROP	31
A.O. Smith	AOS	31
Caterpillar	CAT	30
Expeditors International	EXPD	29
C.H. Robinson	CHRW	26

Industrial – Aristocrats

Information Technology

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Automatic Data Processing	ADP	49
International Business Machines	IBM	28

Information Technology – Aristocrats

Materials

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
PPG	PPG	52
Nucor	NUE	50
Sherwin-Williams	SHW	45
Air Products and Chemicals	APD	41
Amcor	AMCR	40
Ecolab	ECL	32
Linde	LIN	31
Albemarle	ALB	29

Materials – Aristocrats

Real Estate

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Federal Realty Investment Trust	FRT	56
Essex Property Trust	ESS	29
Realty Income	O	29

Real Estate – Aristocrats

Utilities

Name	Ticker	Years of Dividend Increase
Consolidated Edison	ED	49
Atmos Energy	ATO	40
NextEra Energy	NEE	28

Utilities – Aristocrats

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