15 Top Dividend Kings to Buy and Hold Forever

It makes a lot of sense to include some (or many) dividend-paying stocks in your portfolio. Yes, you will get rather reliable income from them regularly -- typically once per quarter -- but healthy and growing dividend payers tend to increase their payouts regularly, too. That means more income in your coffers from year to year, and it can help you keep up with or beat inflation, too.

Better still, the share price of the stocks themselves will likely increase over time, too, delivering added value to your portfolio. A good place to start when seeking attractive and reliable dividend payers is the list of Dividend Kings -- companies that have increased their dividends for at least 50 years in a row. There are only about 31 such companies today. Here's a brief look at 15 of them.

Winning Stocks Under $49
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!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

You might know 3M (NYSE: MMM) as the company behind Post-it notes and Scotch tape, but of course there's much more to it than that. The company traces its roots back to 1902 -- more than 100 years ago -- and it sports brands such as Ace, Scotchgard, NexCare, Filtrete, Bondo, and Dual Lock. 3M's dividend recently yielded 3.05%, and it has been increased at an average annual rate of 5.9% over the past five years. The company has been hiking its payout for 63 consecutive years.

ALSO READ: 3 Embarrassingly Cheap Dividend Stocks

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) traces its roots back to 1822 -- just about 200 years ago! Today its businesses include Philip Morris USA, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, John Middleton, Helix Innovations, and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. It's long been a cigarette giant, but it's got a new "Beyond Nicotine" initiative in place now, aiming to generate more than half its revenue from smoke-free products by 2025. Altria's dividend recently sported a huge yield of 7.1%, and that payout has been growing at an annual average rate of 6.4% over the past five years.

Dependable companies tend to operate in industries that are resistant to massive disruptions or obsolescence, and American States Water (NYSE: AWR) fits that bill, specializing in something required by life on earth: water. It might seem like a boring kind of company, but its performance has been market-beating for a number of years. The stock's dividend recently yielded 1.56%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 10.3% over the past five years. The dividend has been increased for 67 consecutive years, too.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) needs no introduction, as it sports one of the most widely known and most valuable brands on earth. It traces its roots back to 1886 and today is a $244 billion beverage powerhouse, featuring brands such as Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes, Fresca, Barq's, Dasani, smartwater, Minute Maid, Fuze Tea, Honest, Powerade, vitaminwater, and Gold Peak, among many others. The stock's dividend recently yielded 3%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 3.7% over the past five years. This year marked 59 consecutive years of dividend increases for Coca-Cola.

ALSO READ: Like Dividends? I Bet You'll Love These 3 Stocks

Talk about old -- Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) traces its roots almost back to the 1700s, to a starch, soap and candle business launched in New York City in 1802. Today, with a market value recently near $66 billion, it sports brands such as Colgate, Palmolive, Speed Stick, Softsoap, Hill's, Murphy Oil Soap, Irish Spring, Ajax, and Fabuloso, among many others. The stock's dividend recently yielded 2.3%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 2.9% over the past five years. The company notes, "Colgate-Palmolive has paid uninterrupted dividends on its common stock since 1895 and has increased payments to common shareholders every year for 57 years." That's pretty dependable!

Winning Stocks Under $49
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!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) may be known for its consumer products such as Band-Aid, baby shampoo, Listerine, Stayfree, Tylenol, and Benadryl, but it's also very much a medical device company and a pharmaceutical company -- it's a major player in COVID-19 vaccines, after all. The stock's dividend recently yielded 2.4%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 5.8% over the past five years. The dividend has been increased for 59 consecutive years, too.

Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) is one of America's top home-improvement retailers, with a recent market value near $143 billion. The stock's dividend recently yielded 1.55%, and the company has upped its payout by a hefty annual average rate of 18% over the past five years. (Its last dividend increase was 33%!) The dividend has been increased for more than 25 consecutive years.

ALSO READ: 3 Great Dividend Stocks to Buy for Less Than $50

Food giant Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share position in more than 40 categories, with brands such as Hormel, Chi-Chi's, Dinty Moore, Don Miguel, Herb-Ox, Jennie-O, Lloyd's, Planters, Skippy, and Spam. The stock's dividend recently yielded 2.3%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 11.1% over the past five years. Hormel's dividend has been increased for 55 consecutive years, too.

Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) traces its roots back to 1928, nearly 100 years ago. Today it's a distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts through more than 10,000 locations in 14 countries, and it sports a market value recently topping $17 billion. The stock's dividend recently yielded 2.7%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 4.4% over the past five years. It's has been increasing its payout for 66 consecutive years, too.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW) only recently joined the ranks of Dividend Kings, increasing its dividend (which recently yielded 1.5%) for the 50th consecutive year in 2021. It has hiked its payout by an annual average rate of 5.8% over the past five years, too. W.W. Grainger traces its roots back to 1927, and today it says it's "North America's leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, with operations primarily in North America, Japan and Europe."

Winning Stocks Under $49
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!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) is another strong newcomer to the Dividend Kings list, raising its payout (which recently yielded 1.5%) for the 50th consecutive year in 2021. It has increased its payout by an annual average rate of 8.1% over the past five years. The company has been in business for more than 135 years, specializing in paints, coatings, and specialty materials. It has been making dividend payments regularly since 1899.

ALSO READ: 3 Dividend Aristocrat Stocks to Buy in September

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a very familiar (and growing) company, boasting brands such as Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, and Whisper. Procter & Gamble's dividend recently yielded 2.4%, and the company has upped that payout by an annual average rate of 5.4% over the past five years. The last dividend announcement noted, "P&G has been paying a dividend for 131 consecutive years since its incorporation in 1890 and has increased its dividend for 65 consecutive years, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to returning value to shareholders."

You might not have ever given Sysco (NYSE: SYY) much thought, but pay attention on the roads, and you'll likely see Sysco trucks, as they deliver foodstuffs to a wide variety of customers, such as restaurants, healthcare facilities, and schools. In its own words, "Sysco is the world’s global foodservice leader. Our robust international network supports customers in 90 different countries around the world." The stock's dividend recently yielded 2.4%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 8.7% over the past five years. The dividend has been increased for 52 consecutive years, too.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) has been selling tools since 1843 and was recently the No. 1 global seller of tools (based on revenue), No. 2 in security, and a growing global leader in engineered fastening as well. The stock's dividend recently yielded 1.65%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 4.9% over the past five years. It has been paying dividends for 145 consecutive years and has increased its payout for 53 consecutive years.

ALSO READ: 3 Dividend Stocks Begging to Be Bought in September

Target (NYSE: TGT) is a familiar name, and you may have shopped at one of its 1,900-plus U.S. stores. The company, which has been performing very well lately, employs more than 350,000 people and gives 5% of its profits to local communities. It raked in more than $90 billion last year and sports a market value recently near $120 billion. The stock's dividend recently yielded 1.5%, and the company has upped its payout by an annual average rate of 8.5% over the past five years -- most recently by 32%. The dividend has been paid on an uninterrupted basis since 1967, and it has been increased for 50 consecutive years, too.

Winning Stocks Under $49
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!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Most of us will need sources of income in retirement, and we would do well to consider including dividend-paying stocks in our portfolio for that. The 15 companies listed are just some of the ones you might consider. There are gobs of others -- that may not have a 50-plus-year track record of paying dividends, but that might still be healthy and growing businesses -- perhaps on their way to 50 or 100 years of dividend payments.

Selena Maranjian owns shares of Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool recommends 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and Lowes and recommends the following options: long January 2023 $50 calls on Sysco and short August 2021 $95 calls on Sysco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.