The stock market has been on a massive roll since last October. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished the first quarter up over 10%, and the venerable Dow Jones Industrial added almost 6%. It was also a sweet first quarter for stock investors. However, some dark clouds may be on the horizon, and the first two trading weeks of the second quarter hinted at just that. Stocks got crushed as yields exploded double-digits higher on all the longer maturities.

Nobody likes a bull market more than 24/7 Wall St., but we could be poised for a big market correction. Investors may be wise to take profits on more aggressive stocks now and move capital into safer dividend-yielding stocks. 

Investors seeking dividend dependability may be drawn to the Dividend Kings. These 53 companies have raised their dividends for 50 consecutive years or more. We screened the list for stocks that investors may need to become more familiar with and found five top companies that pay hefty dividends and offer investors some solid passive income. Passive income is a steady stream of unearned income that doesn’t require active traditional work. Ideas for earning passive income include investments, real estate, or side hustles.

Altria

This maker of tobacco products offers value investors a great entry point now and a rich 9.57% dividend. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States through its subsidiaries.

The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand;

• Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild brand
• Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
• on! Oral nicotine pouches.

It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.

Altria owns over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. Recently, the company announced it would sell 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. 

Universal Corporation

While this company’s products, like Altria’s, may not be for everyone, they have strong demand, have been in business for almost 150 years, and offer shareholders a hefty 6.47% dividend. Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide.

The company operates through two segments:

• Tobacco Operations
• Ingredients Operations.

It procures, finances, processes, packs, stores, and ships leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.

The company:

• Contracts, purchases, processes, and sells flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos that are primarily used in the manufacture of cigarettes
• Dark air-cured tobaccos manufacture naturally wrapped cigars, cigarillos, and smokeless and pipe tobacco products.

Universal Corporation also provides value-added services, including

• Blending, chemical, and physical tobacco testing
• Service cutting for various manufacturers
• Manufacturing reconstituted leaf tobacco
• Just-in-time inventory management services
• Electronic nicotine delivery systems
• Customer smoke testing services

3M

This top company could jump with a continued economic pick-up. The shares have sold off some over the last month and pay a solid 6.62% dividend. 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) is a diversified technology company worldwide.

It operates through four segments:

• Safety and Industrial
• Transportation and Electronics
• Health Care
• Consumer

The Safety and Industrial segment offers:

• Industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications
• Auto body repair solutions
• Closure systems for personal hygiene products
• Masking and packaging materials
• Electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance
• Power distribution and electrical original equipment manufacturers
• Structural adhesives and tapes
• Respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions
• Natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles

The 3M Transportation and Electronics segment provides:

• Ceramic solutions
• Attachment tapes
• Films, sound, and temperature management for vehicles
• Premium large-format graphic films for advertising and fleet signage
• Light management films and electronics assembly solutions
• Packaging and interconnection solutions
• Reflective signage for highway and vehicle safety

Italy, the company’s Healthcare segment offers:

• Food safety indicator solutions
• Healthcare procedure coding and reimbursement software
• Skin, wound care, and infection prevention products and solutions
• Dentistry and orthodontic solutions
• Filtration and purification systems

The Consumer segment provides:

• Consumer bandages
• Braces, supports, and consumer respirators;
• Cleaning products for the home
• Retail abrasives
• Paint accessories
• Car care DIY products
• Picture hanging
• Consumer air quality solutions
• Stationery products

Northwest Natural Holding

This off-the-radar utility stock suits worried conservative investors and pays a solid 5.46% dividend. Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN), through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

The company also operates 5.7 billion cubic feet of the Mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities and third-party marketers;

• Offers natural gas asset management services
• Operates an appliance retail center.
• In addition, it engages in gas storage, water, non-regulated renewable natural gas, and other investments and activities.

The company provides natural gas service through approximately:

• 786,000 meters in Oregon and southwest Washington
• Water services to about 80,000 people through about 33,000 water and wastewater connections in the Pacific Northwest and Texas.

Federal Realty Investment Trust

While real estate has slowly come back, demand is still growing, and hard assets are good in inflationary times. Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation, and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C., to Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Federal Realty’s mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through investing in densely populated, affluent communities where retail demand exceeds supply.

Its expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like:

• Santana Row in San Jose, California
• Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland
• Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts

Federal Realty’s 102 properties include approximately 3,300 tenants in 26 million square feet and 3,100 residential units. Federal Realty has increased its quarterly dividends to its shareholders, which is currently 4.45% for 56 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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