3 Super Safe Dividend Stocks That Have Been Making Payments for Decades

When considering a dividend stock, it's well worth looking at how long it's been providing its payouts. While the past doesn't predict the future, a company that has a strong track record -- and whose prospects still look promising -- can make for a better investment than a business without a long history of paying dividends. Stocks that pay dividends over a long period often like to boast about their track records, and it gives them incentive to extend the streak further. Plus, it demonstrates to investors the resiliency of the business's operations.

Three stocks that have been making payments for decades and which look like incredibly safe dividend investments today include Eli Lilly (LLY 1.19%), Coca-Cola (KO), and Microsoft (MSFT 1.82%).

1. Eli Lilly

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has been a red-hot growth stock this year with its shares rising by more than 50%. Excitement surrounding some of its drugs, including Mounjaro, which may prove to be the best weight-loss drug ever (with peak annual sales potentially as high as $68 billion), is just one example of why investors see tremendous upside for the business in the long run.

Eli Lilly also has a robust business as it is, which has allowed it to generate at least $5 billion in annual profit in each of the past four years. And its profit margin is typically around 20% of revenue.

The company's solid operations make its dividend, which yields 0.8%, incredibly safe as the stock's payout ratio is less than 60%. Although you're not going to get a boatload of money from that kind of a yield, this is an attractive dividend stock simply because Eli Lilly's business is on the cusp of much more growth in the future, and there's room for the company to raise its payouts, which it has been doing over the years.

Eli Lilly's current quarterly dividend of $1.13 is double the $0.5625 that it was paying its shareholders back in 2018. Plus, the company has been paying a dividend for more than a century going back to 1885. And with a bright future ahead, it's unlikely that is going to change anytime soon. 

2. Coca-Cola

Soft drink giant Coca-Cola has a mature business that doesn't have huge growth prospects. But this is still a quality income stock to own. Its 3.4% dividend yield gives investors considerably more recurring income than Eli Lilly. And that yield is also double the S&P 500 average rate of 1.6%. 

The company's dividend streak goes back more than 100 years to 1920, making Coca-Cola an incredibly reliable income stock for investors to be holding.

Today, the company continues to be showing its resiliency amid inflation as it has been able to raise prices to combat higher costs. Coca-Cola has generated profits totaling $10.5 billion over the trailing 12 months on revenue of $44.1 billion for a solid profit margin of 24%, and that's amid some challenging economic conditions.

Coca-Cola has a payout ratio of 75%, which remains manageable. This is also a Dividend King as the company has increased its dividend payments for 61 consecutive years. All in all, this is one of the best dividend growth stocks investors can buy right now.

3. Microsoft

The only stock on this list to not be paying dividends for the past century is Microsoft. But this is still a company that has been paying dividends for decades, with its payouts going back to the early 2000s. And given the significant cash flow that Microsoft generates, it wouldn't be surprising for this to be a future Dividend King.

Its dividend yield is 0.9% which isn't terribly exciting. But as with Eli Lilly, the value is in the dividend's stability and also the prospects for investors to benefit from both Microsoft's strong growth prospects and its ability to raise dividends in the future. The company recently boosted its payouts by 10% to $0.75, and that's also 63% higher than the $0.46 it was paying five years ago.

Microsoft's payout ratio is less than 30%, which is incredibly modest, ensuring that the tech company, known for its Windows operating software and office applications, can continue pursuing growth opportunities while also allocating a good chunk of cash to the dividend. Microsoft has invested billions into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and it is also nearing the completion of its acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard.

Its growth prospects remain strong and with a growing dividend, this makes for an incredibly attractive investment for both dividend and growth-oriented investors.