Is making easy money a fantasy? Yes and no.
On one hand, the old adage that "it takes money to make money" is true. Accumulating enough money to invest that will enable you to generate a significant level of passive income isn't typically an easy task.
However, once you have a large enough amount to invest, it's not too difficult to rake in quite a bit of money on an annual basis. If you have $100,000, you can make more than $5,700 in passive income investing in these monster dividend stocks.
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1. Enterprise Products Partners
A great start would be to take one-third of your initial $100,000 and buy shares of midstream energy company Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 1.69%). Its dividend yield currently stands at 6.94%. That's enough to generate around $2,313 in annual income.
There's a very good chance that your actual income will be even higher in the future. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distribution for 23 consecutive years. With business booming, the company should be in a great position to keep that streak going.
But with its focus on transporting and storing fossil fuels, is Enterprise in jeopardy of becoming a fossil itself? I don't think so. An estimated 60% of current oil use doesn't have a viable alternative. And the International Energy Agency projects that the demand for oil and gas will actually increase by 18% by 2040.
Enterprise is also developing carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen, and other capabilities. The company is arguably well-positioned to thrive, even in the midst of increased adoption of electric vehicles. The bottom line is that this stock should be able to deliver impressive passive income to investors for a long time to come.
2. Medical Properties Trust
Another $33,333 of your initial investment could be used to scoop up shares of Medical Properties Trust (MPW -7.70%). Its dividend yields 5.63%. You'd be able to make roughly $1,877 per year in passive income from MPT's dividend distributions.
MPT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in leasing properties to hospital operators. The company owns around 440 facilities in 32 states, plus eight countries outside of the U.S.
Nearly three-quarters of those facilities are general acute-care hospitals. However, MPT also owns and leases behavioral-health facilities, inpatient rehab hospitals, long-term acute-care hospitals, and freestanding emergency-room and urgent-care facilities.
The healthcare REIT has increased its diversification across hospital operators in recent years. Its largest facility accounts for less than 3% of cash flow. With its focus on a must-have market and its strong financial position, MPT is the kind of stock that will help you sleep peacefully as the dividends flow in.
3. Verizon Communications
Your annual passive income from buying Enterprise Products Partners and Medical Properties Trust would be around $4,190. Investing the remaining one-third of your initial $100,000 in Verizon Communications (VZ 1.15%) would add another $1,580, bringing your total to $5,770.
Verizon has increased its dividend payout for 15 consecutive years. The telecom giant uses less than 48% of its earnings to fund the dividend program. This relatively low payout ratio means that Verizon should be in good shape to keep the dividend hikes coming.
Sure, the stock's performance has lagged well behind that of the S&P 500 index in recent years. However, don't underestimate Verizon's growth prospects. The company's 5G Home could make inroads against cable wifi providers. Verizon's home internet product is already available to around 100 million Americans.
The stock is also attractively valued in a market where most stocks remain priced at a premium. Verizon's shares currently trade at less than 10x expected earnings.
