Investing

These 13 Stocks Are True Dividend Kings

Two hand giving heap of coins money with up arrow and percentage symbol for financial banking increase interest rate or mortgage investment dividend from business growth concept.
Dilok Klaisataporn / Shutterstock.com

24/7 Wall Street Insights

  • Dividend Kings are companies with an unbroken track record of dividend increases spanning a minimum of 50 consecutive years. Some of these companies have been in business for over a century.
  • A company’s ability to consistently increase dividends are a good indication that its economic growth and profits are healthy, making them good buy-and-hold investments. 
  • While dividend king status is a reliable gauge of a company’s financial strength, well-known companies that miss a year of dividend increases will be removed from the list, such as 3M Corp.

Dividend Increases: A Barometer for Economic Growth and Stability

Dividends paid by companies. Cash flow and investment concept
Funtap / Shutterstock.com
Annual dividend increases are a reliable indicator of a company’s fiancial strength and stability.

As a general rule, companies that can make enough profits to pay some back to investors in the form of dividends are a reliable barometer for assessing their economic growth prospects and stability. For long term investors, including institutions, staying power growth can be gauged by dividend increases. Companies that manage to increase dividends for 25 consecutive years are categorized as “dividend aristocrats”. 

On a more rarefied level, those companies who have been able to sustain dividend increases for 50 consecutive years are dubbed “dividend kings.”  Reaching “dividend King” status is arduous on its own, but staying there is not a guarantee, as dividend king 3M was removed when it cut its dividend in May, 2024. 

Unsurprisingly, companies exhibiting the growth and profit trajectories to rate inclusion in the dividend kings echelon are, for the most part, in industries that provide or are crucial to the production of indispensable goods and services, like food, water, electricity, transportation, and medicine. Also unsurprising is that some of these companies can trace their operating history back to the Pre-Civil War era, which is a testament to their longevity and adaptability to keep up with progress and the changes in American society and economic conditions. 

The 13 stocks listed below all, as of the time of this writing, are dividend kings with 60 or more years’ worth of consecutive, unbroken dividend increases. They can be considered the “kings among kings”, if you will, of the dividend increase realm. 

American States Water Company

JamesBrey / E+ via Getty Images
American States Water Company has been a water and electical utility operating in Southern California since 1929.

Based in San Dimas, CA, American States Water (NYSE: AWR) was founded in 1929 and has been a solidly longtime electric and water utilities provider in southern California. It has a 70 year unbroken track record of dividend increases.  

Dover Corporation

Jemal Countess / Getty Images
Dover Corp. fluid and fuel management equipment has become ubiquitous in the transportation and sanitation industries, to name a few.

Manufacturing fluid and fuel handling equipment for industries from aerospace and transportation to sanitation, Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) is another 70 year dividend king. Founded in 1947, Dover is based in Downers Grove, IL, and its products range from pumps, filters, winches, clamps, and ports to machine and electronic componetns, software monitoring and management solutions.

Northwest Natural Holding Company

MarianVejcik / iStock via Getty Images
Northwest Natural Holding has been delivering natural gas, water and wastewater services since its pre-Civil War founding in 1859.

Portland, OR headquartered Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) is a natural gas, water, and wastewater utilities services company, also with 70 years of consecutive dividend increases to its credit. It was founded in 1859, 2 years before the Civil War and the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Its primary coverage areas are Oregon and southwest Washington State. 

The Procter & Gamble Company

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Tide laundry detergent is one of Procter & Gamble’s most popular products.

Fans of personal care and household brands like Gillette razors, Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent, Dawn dishwash soap, Vicks cold symptom remedies, Pepto-Bismol stomach medicine, and hundreds of other products are customers of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), whether they know it or not. It has notched an unbroken 69 year streak of annual hiked dividends. This consumer products company, based in Cincinnati, OH, was founded in 1837 – the same year President Martin Van Buren had to deal with the Panic of 1837, one of the first US financial crises, that led to a depression lasting into the 1840s. 

Parker-Hannifin Corporation

Stocktrek Images / Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
The Lockheed Martin F-16 is one of several military aircraft utilizing parts manufactured by Parker-Hannifin’s aerospace division.

While not as much of a household name in aerospace as Boeing or Northop-Grumman, Cleveland, OH based Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) has made itself crucial to the industry with its wide array of systems, components, and indispensable aeronautic parts and machinery for military, manufacturing, and other industrial applications. The company was founded in 1917, and boasts 69 uninterrupted years of dividend growth.

Genuine Parts Company

Valerii Apetroaiei / iStock via Getty Images
Disc brakes are among the many auto parts manufactured by Genuine Parts Company for the transportation industry.

Atlanta, GA is home to vehicle parts supplier Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC). The company supplies a complete catalog of parts for vehicles ranging from cars, trucks and buses to motorcycles, RVs, farm vehicles, and marine equipment all over the globe. The company was founded in 1928, and is still on an unbroken 69 year streak of dividend increases. The company owns the NAPA Auto Parts brand. 

Emerson Electric Company

Piotr Wytrazek / iStock via Getty Images
Lightbulbs were an early product of Emerson Electric Company.

Emerson Electric Company (NYSE: EMR) provides specialized machinery and software solutions for industrial, commercial, and consumer clients and has a 67 consecutive year history of increased dividends. Operating from St. Louis, MO, the company was founded in 1890, the era of President Benjamin Harrison, whose administration is responsible for the Sherman Antitrust Act and the McKinley Tariff,  both of which are prevalent factors in today’s economic and trade policy issues. 

Cincinnati Financial Corporation

benedek / iStock via Getty Images
Cincinnati Financial Corp. has expanded from property casulaty insurance to a panoply of other types of insurance coverage, as well as brokerage, leasing, an f other financial services

Like the NFL New York Giants, whose stadium is actually in New Jersey, Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CINF) is actually headquartered in nearby Fairfield, OH, 23 miles away. Since 1950, the company has offered a broad menu of insurance products, from property casualty, to commercial, life, auto, liability, etc. and has successfully given shareholders larger dividends annually for the past 64 years. The company has since added brokerage, lease finance, and loan services to its product catalog.

The Coca-Cola Company

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic and recognized American brands on the planet.

One of the most globally recognized brands on the planet, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has been a leader in the beverage industry since the early 20th century, and now includes juices, vitamin waters, teas, energy drinks, and other non-alcoholic offerings in its product line.  Founded in 1886, Coca-Cola is a longtime institutional investor favorite, with a 63 year consecutive dividend hike streak. For a more in-depth current look at Coca-Cola, click here

Johnson & Johnson

Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Among Johnson & Johnson’s many medicines and treatments catalog include vaccines.

Founded in 1886 by the three Johnson brothers (Robert, James and Edward) in New Brunswick, NJ, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)  has been a major healthcare and pharmaceutical titan for nearly 150 years. Its treatments address cancer, immune suppression, heart disease, infections, neurological afflictions, and a host of other ailments. Johnson & Johnson has also logged a 63 year track history of continual dividend increases. 

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Scott Olson / Getty Images
Colgate-Palmolive’ originally was founded when Thomas Jefferson was in his second presidential term and Lewis & Clark completed their expedition of the unexplored continental US territories.

In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson monitored the aggression of Napoleon Bonaparte in France and Lewis & Clark finished their historic expedition. It is very possible that all of them may have used soap or candles during that era made by Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL). The venerable New York company has long been known for its signature Colgate toothpaste, as well as for a wide range of branded soaps, deodorants, shampoos, perfumes, and other personal products, in addition to its pet foods division. Colgate-Palmolive recorded its 62nd year in a row of dividend hikes in 2024.  

Nordson Corporation

yoh4nn / E+ via Getty Images
Plastic extrusion machines are just one of many kind of equipment designed and manufactured by Nordson Corporation.

Hailing from Westlake, OH, Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN) has a history dating back to 1909. It specializes in the machines for the handling of adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, biomaterials, and fluids for a wide range of industrial and commercial applications. Nordson also notched 62 years of larger dividends this year. 

Lancaster Colony Corporation

Chick-fil-A fries
ustin Sullivan / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Chick-fil-A is one of a number of restaurant chains who contract their condiments from Lancaster Colony Corporation.

Founded in 1961, Westerville, OH headquartered Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ: LANC) is the youngest company on this list. Known for its specialty food products sold throughout the nation, Lancaster Colony Corp. also produces condiments for such popular restaurant chains as Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A, and Buffalo Wild Wings. It celebrates 61 uninterrupted dividend hike years in a row in 2024.  

Name SYMB Years Sector
American States Water Company AWR 70 Utilities
Dover Corp. DOV 70 Industrials
Northwest Natural Holding Company NWN 70 Utilities
The Procter & Gamble Company PG 69 Consumer Discretionary 
Parker-Hannifin Corporation PH 69 Industrials
Genuine Parts Company GPC 69 Consumer Discretionary
Emerson Electric Company EMR 67 Industrials
Cincinnati Financial Corp. CINF 64 Financials
The Coca-Cola Company KO 63 Consumer Staples
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 63 Healthcare
Colgate-Palmolive Company CL  62 Consumer Discretionary
Nordson Corporation NDSN 62 Industrials
Lancaster Colony Corporation LANC 61 Consumer Staples

 

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Get started right here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.