Investors love dividends. Now that the bull market is six years old and that the Federal Reserve is closer to raising interest rates, investors might be smart to consider which stocks they own and what the prospects are for each stock. It also turns out that Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, also loves dividend stocks — even if Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) itself does not pay a dividend and likely will not pay one for another generation.

24/7 Wall St. regularly evaluates the new positions of Berkshire Hathaway each quarter when the new filings are out. This time around, we wanted to evaluate the prospects for each of the eight highest-yielding Buffett stocks.

While Buffett has said that he does not want to pay dividends to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, his investing actions prove that the Oracle of Omaha loves what dividends do for his conglomerate. First off, they bring in several billion a year in added income to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B). In some cases Buffett has used the dividend income to grow his positions of each company, and in some cases he has simply accumulated that dividend cash to be used for past and future acquisitions.

24/7 Wall St. has handicapped each dividend stock owned by Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. We have looked first at the dividend yield, how many shares the conglomerate owns and what the current dollar value is. We have added color on Buffett’s purchase history of each position, as well as what he and his team are attracted to about the position. Another review has been the dividend history for each position, as well what the dividend outlook is for each company. Then there are the current prices compared to a 52-week range and consensus analyst price target from Thomson Reuters, as well as a total market cap and how much each stock is up in the past year.

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Those positions that have dwindled to almost nothing by Buffett or his portfolio managers were not evaluated for this review. These are the top eight dividend stocks owned by Warren Buffett.

Verizon
> Dividend Yield: 4.56%
> Buffett Stake: 15.0 million shares
> Market Value: $723 million

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) will be the only telecom player left in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after Apple replaces AT&T, and Verizon will be the highest yield in the Dow as well. Verizon was added by the new portfolio managers under Buffett, and it remains to be seen how the stock ultimately will perform during this cellular price war. Verizon has raised its dividend for eight straight years, and Team Buffett likely expects that the telecom giant can keep raising its dividend.

Verizon closed recently at $48.23, in a 52-week range of $45.09 to $53.66. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $51.50, and the company has a market cap of $200 billion. Over the past year, shares are up 7%.

General Electric
> Dividend Yield: 3.59%
> Buffett Stake: 10.6 million shares
> Market Value: $271 million

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) shares recently closed at $25.64, and the stock has a 52-week range of $23.41 to $27.53. The conglomerate has a consensus analyst price target of $28.50 and a market cap of $258 billion. Shares were up 1.6% over the past year.

Buffett’s total exposure to GE used to be larger after investing during the recession, and the conglomerate is now one of the top dividend payers in the Dow. Buffett has to like that Synchrony Financial will be entirely on its own soon and that GE is in the process of becoming an industrial conglomerate with only 25% exposure to financial services rather than half-bank and half-conglomerate.

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National Oilwell Varco
> Dividend Yield: 3.56%
> Buffett Stake: 5.3 million shares
> Market Value: $272 million

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) is still a decent sized stake, but investors have not ignored that the Buffett portfolio managers have trimmed their stake from well over 7 million shares last summer. With oil in such a bad place, one has to wonder about future dividends. It turns out that the oil well and platform maker is expected to earn over $3 per share and that $1.84 dividend is at least safe on the surface. The reason the company has such a high yield is because its stock is down over $30 from last year’s peak.

Shares closed most recently at $51.65, in a 52-week range of $49.25 to $86.55. The consensus price target is $57.14, and the market cap is $21 billion. Shares are down 26% over the past year, thanks to that drop in the oil patch.

Coca-Cola
> Dividend Yield: 3.19%
> Buffett Stake: 400.0 million shares
> Market Value: $17 billion

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) has been the same size stake for years at Berkshire Hathaway. Needless to say, Buffett has clipped years and years worth of dividends here, and his dividend-adjusted cost basis has to be getting ever closer to zero, since the first part of the position dates back over 25 years now. The attraction here is that Buffett sees sodas as having secular demand, even if they have been weak of late. The Green Mountain and Monster Beverage stakes by Coca-Cola are taking the company to the next stage. Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years.

Coca-Cola closed recently at $41.39 versus a 52-week range of $37.88 to $45.00. It has a consensus analyst price target of $45.38 and a market cap of $180 billion. Shares are up 10.6% over the last year.

General Motors
> Dividend Yield: 3.20%
> Buffett Stake: 41.0 million shares
> Market Value: $2 billion

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) has a high yield that is going even higher after its most recent dividend announcement, and it has a large share buyback that Buffett likes to see. This was also a stake that was raised by a million shares in this past quarter. What draws Buffett and his portfolio managers to GM is obvious: it went on sale after the recalls and it is one of the top car brands around the globe. GM also telegraphed that it is likely to maintain its investment grade balance sheet rating from S&P with the capital returns.

GM recently closed at $37.66, and it has a 52-week range of $28.82 to $38.18. The consensus price target is $42.00. Its market cap is $60 billion. Shares are up 4.3% over the past year.

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Suncor Energy
> Dividend Yield: 3.12%
> Buffett Stake: 22.4 million shares
> Market Value: $638 million

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) has been a fairly large bet from Buffett to get exposure to the Canadian oil sands. Maybe this is a hedge against the BNSF rail play, in case that Keystone pipeline project ever gets approved. What is amazing is that this was recently put as a larger stake, despite the drop in oil and concerns about Canada’s economy.

Suncor has been far from immune to the drop in oil prices, and its high yield may be due largely to the drop in shares. With the payout now above 2015 earnings expectations, we wonder if Buffett views this as a yield play at all — he might be concerned about the dividend. Another consideration is that the dividend paid in the United States fluctuates due to the currency exchange, even though it has been static for three quarters at C$0.28 up in Canada.

Suncor closed most recently at $28.56, and it has a 52-week range of $26.56 to $43.49. The consensus price target is $43.02, and the market cap is $41 billion. Shares are down 11.9% over the past year.

Procter & Gamble
> Dividend Yield: 3.10%
> Buffett Stake: 52.8 million shares
> Market Value: $4 billion

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is about to be an interesting look for Buffett due to the Berkshire Hathaway acquisition of Duracell. Buffett’s share count is getting closer to half of what it used to be as well, and it is in many ways a holdover from the days when Buffett owned Gillette and it was bought by P&G.

The draw here is obvious in that P&G is the largest consumer products giant in the world, even if it now is trying to jettison many brands. P&G has paid dividends for 124 years, and 2014 was the 58th consecutive dividend hike. P&G may seem expensive at 20-times expected earnings, but Buffett’s adjusted cost basis is drastically lower. The Duracell deal is going to create a swap of P&G shares from Berkshire Hathaway, but that may not drive investors away since Buffett is sticking with a big 44.7 billion bet inside a P&G unit (Duracell).

P&G closed recently at $83.09, in a 52-week range of $77.29 to $93.89. The consumer products giant has a consensus price target of $93.21. The market cap is $224 billion. P&G shares are up 9.3% over the past year.

International Business Machines
> Dividend Yield: 2.75%
> Buffett Stake: 76.9 million shares
> Market Value: $12 billion

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is a battered tech stock that just cannot seem to get on track. Still, Buffett made a big bet here and he keeps adding to the position. His view is that the stock buybacks are helping out and that the dividend will keep rising. Buffett’s draw was a dominant position for a large IT services outfit plus a large amount of hardware.

We still think Buffett may regret this pick, but Buffett has said openly that he would be unable to buy shares of Microsoft due to the Gates friendship and overlapping of philanthropic efforts — so he likely wouldn’t buy Apple either. IBM investors have seen a higher dividend for 19 straight years, and those same investors should expect a higher dividend soon as well.

IBM recently closed at $160.77, in a 52-week range of $149.52 to $199.21. It has a consensus price target of $158.45 and a market cap of $159 billion. Shares are down 12.1% over the past year.

ALSO READ: 9 Established Companies That Refuse to Pay Dividends

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