Dividend Achievers List

Overview

What is a Dividend Achiever?

Whether you're looking for income now or building your wealth for a financial goal, dividend stocks can make for ideal investments. Taken a step further, dividend growth stocks, companies that have made it a stated goal to consistently and regularly increase their dividend payments, can deliver dependable income and market-beating returns.

The Dividend Achievers, a trademarked property owned by Nasdaq, is a collection of high-quality companies that have a track record of at least 10 straight years of dividend growth. The companies on this list have established themselves as leaders in their industry with strong competitive advantages that have resulted in years of cash flow growth.

There are several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track various versions of the Dividend Achievers index and are offered by well-known investment managers such as Invesco (IVZ -0.17%) and Vanguard.

Dividend Achievers list

Dividend Achievers list

With almost 300 stocks on the Dividend Achievers list, this article won't delve into every single company. Instead of a data dump, here are five top Nasdaq Dividend Achievers that all offer something compelling to different investors:

1. American Water Works 

The largest publicly traded water company in the U.S., American Water Works (AWK 0.59%) is both a clean water utility and wastewater utility services provider. It's also been in business for a very long time, with a corporate history that extends back to the 1880s, and currently provides services to 14 million people in 24 states. 

American Water Works has also made for a pretty great investment. From the beginning of 2010, investors have enjoyed almost 783% in total returns. The dividend has grown 264% over that time, driving a large portion of investors' gains. 

2. Brookfield Infrastructure

Another business that's delivered great long-term returns by providing boring and easily overlooked services, Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP 0.15%) owns and operates telecommunications, utility, energy, water, and transportation infrastructure assets around the world. Investors have also done very well with this wonderful business, which has steadily grown on the need for more and more worldwide infrastructure. 

Since the start of 2010, Brookfield Infrastructure's share price is up 396%. But its generous dividend and steady, regular payout growth have delivered 924% in total returns. 

Brookfield Infrastructure's cash dividend was reduced 10% in early 2020 when it spun out Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (BIPC -0.59%), but BIP shareholders received a tax-free distribution of BIPC shares equal to the cash dividend reduction. It returned to cash dividend growth in the next quarter, and the total distributions growth streak remains intact. 

3. Costco Wholesale

Another long-term market beater, Costco Wholesale (COST 0.55%) has become the go-to retailer for both businesses and families looking to stock up on large quantities of goods at bargain prices. The company's secret? Actually delivering on its low price promise.

The company sells products as cheaply as possible while counting on membership fees for most of its profits. It's a deal customers love: Costco regularly reports renewal rates near or even above 90%.

The business model has also paid off for shareholders. Costco investors have enjoyed 1,990% in total returns since 2010, with dividend growth doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

As a bonus, the company pays out a special dividend every so often when it has a banner financial period or ends up with a much larger amount of cash on the books than it really needs. It paid out by far its biggest-ever special dividend in late 2023, rewarding investors with a whopping $15 per share extra payout on top of its regular quarterly base dividend, which it increased 14% in 2024.

4. J.M. Smucker

Investors looking for stability and reliability across any market environment (and prioritizing a safe dividend above the highest returns) might want to give Smucker (SJM 1.97%) a long, hard look. The company, best known for its brands such as Folgers coffee, Jif peanut butter, and, of course, Smucker's jams and jellies, has rewarded investors with annual dividend growth every year since 2002. It raised the payout 538% over that period and 203% since 2010.

Its returns haven't been nearly as high as the three prior companies, however. Total returns are 209% since 2010. But for investors who prioritize a higher floor over a higher ceiling, Smucker's 3.5% dividend yield and strong cash flows might be ideal. Smucker's cash payout ratio -- the percentage of cash flows it uses to pay the dividend -- has generally stayed below 70% and only been above 80% for a couple of quarters in the past decade.

5. Mastercard

Some of the best dividend growth stocks are easy to miss when their yield is low. Mastercard (MA 0.11%) is an excellent example: In its entire history as a public company, the dividend yield has never been as high as 1%.

But the low yield isn't because management has been stingy. Since 2012, when the company made regular dividend increases a priority, Mastercard has increased its dividend by an incredible 4,300%. Going back to the beginning of 2010, when Mastercard was paying a dividend but not aggressively increasing it, shareholders have enjoyed an unbelievable 1,330% in total returns. 

A growing global middle class, a massive opportunity in person-to-person and business-to-business transactions, and the fact that the vast majority of the world's consumer spending is still cash-based paint a wonderful picture for Mastercard's next decade, too. With a minuscule payout ratio of 20%, the dividend is secure, and there's a lot of room to expand the payout much, much higher.

Dividend yields

Dividend Achievers' dividend yield

Here is the dividend yield of the five Dividend Achievers described above. This compares to a dividend yield of 1.8% for the S&P 500 at the end of the same period.

High-Yield Dividend Achievers

High-yield Dividend Achievers list

Most Dividend Achievers stocks don't pay very high dividend yields, with the index averaging around or even below 2% yield in recent years. Investors looking for more yield might be better served with one of the NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers 50 Index stocks. This index is composed of 50 Dividend Achievers stocks that offer high yields as well as consistent dividend growth.

Here are five of the top High-yield Dividend Achievers and their dividend yields (dividend yields as of Aug. 26, 2024):

1. Realty Income: 5% yield

Commercial real estate giant Realty Income (O 2.01%) is one of the largest owners of stand-alone experiential and retail real estate in North America. It bills itself as "the monthly dividend stock," and the 650 consecutive monthly checks it has sent to shareholders since 1994 are nice. But so is the 5,000% in total returns investors have enjoyed over the past three decades, funded by dividend growth and its ever-expanding real estate asset base.

While it may not be an exciting growth stock, investors looking for a regular income stream, an above-average payout, and modest dividend growth should give Realty Income a closer look.

2. Verizon Communications: 6.4% yield

Telecommunications and media giant Verizon Communications (VZ 1.27%) hasn't exactly been a barn-burner of an investment in recent years. Total returns of 186% since 2014 might seem solid, but the more recent results haven't been good. The stock price is down 22% since 2017, with total returns of 14% driven by dividend growth.

But there could be brighter days ahead for the company. Its business is on solid footing, and unlike AT&T (T 1.18%), which slashed its dividend in 2022 as part of a divestment and spinoff of its media holdings, Verizon has been able to support and modestly increase its own payout.

Its cash payout ratio has also fallen from elevated levels and is now around 80%. For a slow-growth utility-esque business like Verizon, that should prove a stable level. Income investors may want to consider Verizon as part of a diversified higher-yield stock portfolio.

3. Chevron: 4.3% yield

The COVID-19 pandemic brutalized the oil and gas industry, but integrated oil and gas giant Chevron (CVX -2.67%) was able to ride out the worst of it on the strength of a very strong balance sheet and its resilient, integrated operations. The company maintained its dividend during the worst days of 2020 and was able to keep its streak of raising it every calendar year. 

This emphasis on a strong balance sheet, along with conservative capital allocation, continues to deliver across the ups and downs of the oil market. Higher oil prices and an extremely well-run business have cash flows skyrocketing, and management sticking to its knitting of smart spending and returning extra cash to investors. Few oil stocks are worth owning across the oil and gas cycle. Chevron is one, even for dividend-seeking investors.

4. IBM: 5.3% yield

International Business Machines (IBM -0.98%) has one of the most impressive dividend track records out there. The company has paid a dividend every year for a century and raised the payout every year since 1995.

In the meantime, IBM has become a different company than it was a generation ago. In 2021, it split off its legacy managed infrastructure services business, now named Kyndryl (KD 0.36%), so it could focus on its growing cloud, hybrid cloud, and AI services business. While the newly asset-light IBM is still in the early stages of its new focus, there's reason to be optimistic due to the growing addressable market for AI and cloud services.

Those growth prospects -- and the necessary spending to support it and manage $50+ billion in debt -- could affect the dividend, however. A cut is extremely unlikely, but IBM could prioritize more of its cash flows to growing the business in the near term, not the payout. That should create more value in a rising stock price but may require investors focused on dividend growth to remain more patient.

5. Philip Morris International: 4.3% yield

An easy company for many people to hate, tobacco maker Philip Morris International (PM 0.28%) is also extremely profitable. It pays a generous dividend and has increased it every year since becoming a stand-alone company more than a decade and a half ago. But for many investors, the fact that it makes a product that's addictive and causes cancer is reason enough to keep it out of their portfolios.

As a result, Philip Morris regularly trades for a bargain valuation compared to other stocks, making it very attractive for investors looking to capture a solid yield. As of August 2024, shares trade for 21 times trailing earnings, a 22% discount to the price-to-earnings ratio of the average S&P 500 stock. That's cheap for a business that converts nearly all of its operating cash into free cash flow and has operating margins routinely above 35%. 

ETFs

Invest in Dividend Achievers ETFs

The top ETF that tracks the Nasdaq Dividend Achievers Index is the Invesco Dividend Achievers ETF (PFM -0.5%). The Invesco ETF tracks the full Dividend Achievers list and held 424 stocks as of June 30, 2024.

It does come at a cost, though. Its expense ratio -- the fees paid to the fund manager -- is 0.53%. At recent prices, the dividend yield was 1.68%, so a significant portion of the yield you earn goes to pay fees. Keep that in mind. 

If it's higher yield you're after, the Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF (PEY 1.1%) might be more appropriate. This ETF holds the 50 highest-yielding stocks on the Dividend Achievers list, with a 4.55% dividend yield as of June 30, 2024. That's much higher than the dividend yield of the S&P 500. It's similar to the yield it has paid in recent years, with the exception of the peak during the coronavirus pandemic when stock prices crashed.

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