15 Great Income Stocks to Buy Now and Hold

Looking for regular income from your investment portfolio? About half of the approximately 7,000 publicly traded stocks out there pay dividends, usually quarterly but a few monthly.

They're not all alike, of course. If you're counting on that cash flow as a steady, reliable source of passive income, some choices are better than others. Here are 15 of the best.

5 Stocks Under $49
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T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) is not only a global provider of investment services to individuals, group retirement plans, and institutions, it's a pretty good investment itself.

Thirty-six consecutive years of dividend increases qualify T. Rowe Price as a Dividend Aristocrat, and the stock itself is now yielding about 4.3%, which isn't too shabby, from a share price of about $121.

ALSO READ: S&P 500's Best Dividend Aristocrats

Realty Income (NYSE: O) is a real estate investment trust (REIT), which means it's required by tax law to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends. This owner of about 6,500 retail properties has done just that for 624 consecutive months, currently at the rate of about 4.5% from a share price of about $69.

American States Water (NYSE: AWR) provides water and wastewater services to more than a million people in nine states, primarily in California, and is pumping out a current yield of about 1.9% at a share price of about $79. And after 66 consecutive years of payout increases, it now wears the crown of Dividend King.

ALSO READ: Dividend Kings of 2022

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a great example of the profit power of buying and holding.

If you had plunked down $10,000 on this stock 20 years ago and let the dividends and share price run, your stake would have grown to $1 million while this REIT grew into one of the largest owners of cell towers and related digital infrastructure on the planet.

If you still think this industry has room to grow, you can buy AMT shares for about $260 a piece and get a yield of about 2.3%.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) makes more than COVID-19 vaccines. It makes a lot of money, too. One of the world's leading biopharmaceutical companies, Pfizer has raised its dividend for the past 12 straight years and is yielding about 3.1% at a share price of about $51.

And in the past 10 years, Pfizer stock has provided a total return of about 240%, more than doubling the money of those who bought and held over that time.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) is one of the largest owners-operators of self-storage facilities in the country, and this industry has been very good for Life Storage and investors in this REIT.

Currently yielding about 3.7% at a share price of about $112, Life Storage has posted a total return of about 380% over the past 10 years, compared with 246% for the S&P 500.

ALSO READ: These 4 REITs Are a Retiree's Best Friend

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE) is a great example of a company that may well be too beaten down in today's market. This REIT is a major owner of collaborative life sciences campuses and office/laboratory buildings that has seen its stock fall about 37% so far this year to about $143 a share.

But in the past 20 years, it's kept pace with the S&P 500 in total return and has raised its payout for 13 straight years, giving it a current yield of about 3.5%. That can help pad your pockets while you wait for the rally that seems likely to come for this long-term strong performer.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has been pumping out profits, as well as oil and gas on a global scale for decades, and has raised its dividend for 35 straight years. The energy giant is now yielding about 3.9% at a share price of about $146 and has more than doubled investors' money in the past 10 years, providing a total return of about 115%.

ALSO READ: Investing in Top Oil Stocks

Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR) has had a very rough year, losing about half of its market cap. But this REIT is one of the only financers of industrial space for medical marijuana growers in the country, and it has consistently made money and raised its dividend since going public five years ago.

It may well be a steal right now at a share price of about $119 and current yield of about 6.3%. Multiple analysts rate this stock a buy, with a consensus target price of $239, further buttressing its case for being a buy and hold.

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) has expanded into legal cannabis itself but is still primarily a producer and distributor of smokable and smokeless tobacco products.

Altria has raised its dividend for 13 straight years, including by about 5.5% in the past three, and now yields an inflation-matching 8.7% at a share price of about $44.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Crown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) went public in 1998 with a portfolio of about 1,400 cell towers. Now it has about 40,000, as well as 80,000 miles of fiber cable and a booming business in small cell nodes as this REIT capitalizes on the continuing domestic rollout of 5G networks across the United States.

Since that IPO, this infrastructure REIT has provided a total return of 1,670%, about 3.5 times that of the S&P 500, and its raised its dividend for seven straight years, providing a current yield of about 3.4% at a share price of about $175.

ALSO READ: Investing in Infrastructure REITs

International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) has been around since 1911 and now employs about 280,000 people in more than 170 countries. This computer services pioneer has nearly doubled its dividend over the past 10 years and is now yielding about 4.8% at a share price of about $142.

Prologis (NYSE: PLD) owns more than 4,500 warehouses with about a billion square feet of logistics space, making it the 800-pound gorilla in this very hot industry.

In the past 10 years, this industrial REIT has beaten the S&P 500 by 50% in total return and has grown its dividend by 182%. Prologis stock is down about 20% this year to about $122 a share, giving it a yield of about 2.7% and a lot of potential for a nice buy and hold for years to come.

ALSO READ: Investing in Industrial REITs

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is a major tenant for cell towers owned by American Towers and Crown Castle International and an excellent buy-and-hold candidate of its own. The wireless phone titan has boosted its dividend every year for 18 straight and now pays out about 5% at a share price of about $51.

No list like this would be complete without a classic utility stock in the form of a major electricity provider. Let's go with NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), which serves about 11 million people on the east and lower west coasts of Florida through its largest subsidiary, Florida Power & Light.

NextEra has raised its dividend by about 12% in the past three years as it built on a record of 28 years of dividend increases. NextEra stock now yields about 2.3% at a share price of about $78.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

There is no guarantee that these companies will keep paying dividends as they have, much less that their share prices will grow. But their individual histories and trajectory of the industries they occupy show that there's a very good chance that both those good things will indeed happen.

Marc Rapport has positions in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Crown Castle International, Innovative Industrial Properties, and Life Storage Inc. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends American Tower, Crown Castle International, Innovative Industrial Properties, NextEra Energy, and Prologis. The Motley Fool recommends Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Life Storage Inc, and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.