In simple terms, a dividend is the share of profits a company pays out to its investors, usually on a quarterly basis. Some companies, however, crank out dividends at a regular clip.
Dividends are an important component of your portfolio. Most companies that pay a dividend have gone from their fast double-digit growth period into more mature stable entities.
The boards of these companies have determined what portion of earnings should be returned to the shareholders while continuing to grow the business. When market timing misses the mark and startups stall, it’s hard to go wrong with companies that share the wealth.
Attached, you can find a stock selection of the best dividend-yielding stocks over time. Those companies did pay dividends over 100 years or more. In order to get a good initial yield, I've selected only those with an inital yield of more than 3 percent.
The companies I tend to focus on tend to be stodgy corporations that have strong competitive advantages that allow them to keep customers happy and protect their business from competitors.
They are characterized by wide moats, or strong competitive advantages such as geographic monopolies, strong brand names, strong customer relationships, economies of scale or the ability to consistently reinvent themselves.
These companies have managed to boost distributions through two world wars, the cold war, several oil price shocks and countless recessions. Their strong business models have helped them to consistently find new ways to increase sales, pass on cost increases to consumers and gain market share, that has resulted in higher profits and dividends over the past century.
Here are the stocks which paid dividends for more than 100 years without a break....
Chevron Corporation -- Yield: 5.61%
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) employs 64,700 people, generates revenue of $199,941.00 million and has a net income of $19,310.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $143.48 billion.
Chevron Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $40,359.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 20.19% (the operating margin is 11.79% and the net profit margin 9.66%).
Financials: The total debt represents 10.46% of Chevron Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 17.94%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 12.65% was realized by Chevron Corporation.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $6.46. Last fiscal year, Chevron Corporation paid $4.21 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 12.13, the P/S ratio is 0.72 and the P/B ratio is finally 0.92. The dividend yield amounts to 5.61%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Chevron Corporation (CVX) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Chevron Corporation (CVX) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Chevron Corporation (CVX) |
Bank of Nova Scotia -- Yield: 5.19%
Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) employs 90,354 people, generates revenue of $14,561.44 million and has a net income of $5,438.56 million. The current market capitalization stands at $52.28 billion.Bank of Nova Scotia’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $8,113.87 million. The EBITDA margin is 45.47% (the operating margin is 38.84% and the net profit margin 30.48%).
Financials: The total debt represents 11.65% of Bank of Nova Scotia assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 195.88%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 16.25% was realized by Bank of Nova Scotia.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.96. Last fiscal year, Bank of Nova Scotia paid $1.91 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.24, the P/S ratio is 2.93 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.57. The dividend yield amounts to 5.19%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) |
Exxon Mobil -- Yield: 4.00%
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) employs 75,300 people, generates revenue of $394,105.00 million and has a net income of $33,615.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $304.24 billion.Exxon Mobil’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $51,379.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 13.04% (the operating margin is 8.65% and the net profit margin 8.53%).
Financials: The total debt represents 8.33% of Exxon Mobil assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 16.70%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 18.67% was realized by Exxon Mobil.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $5.61. Last fiscal year, Exxon Mobil paid $2.70 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 13.19, the P/S ratio is 0.77 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.76. The dividend yield amounts to 4.00%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Exxon Mobil (XOM) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Exxon Mobil (XOM) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Exxon Mobil (XOM) |
Consolidated Edison -- Yield: 3.95%
Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) employs 14,601 people, generates revenue of $12,919.00 million and has a net income of $1,092.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $19.30 billion.Consolidated Edison’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3,235.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 25.04% (the operating margin is 16.75% and the net profit margin 8.45%).
Financials: The total debt represents 29.32% of Consolidated Edison assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 103.30%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 8.80% was realized by Consolidated Edison.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.77. Last fiscal year, Consolidated Edison paid $2.52 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 17.43, the P/S ratio is 1.49 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.53. The dividend yield amounts to 3.95%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Consolidated Edison (ED) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Consolidated Edison (ED) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Consolidated Edison (ED) |
Procter & Gamble -- Yield: 3.67%
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) employs 110,000 people, generates revenue of $76,279.00 million and has a net income of $8,930.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $196.11 billion.Procter & Gamble’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $15,979.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 20.95% (the operating margin is 15.46% and the net profit margin 11.71%).
Financials: The total debt represents 23.44% of Procter & Gamble assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 48.62%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 13.23% was realized by Procter & Gamble.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.04. Last fiscal year, Procter & Gamble paid $2.59 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 23.68, the P/S ratio is 2.57 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.20. The dividend yield amounts to 3.67%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Procter & Gamble (PG) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Procter & Gamble (PG) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Procter & Gamble (PG) |
Intl. Business Machines -- Yield: 3.65%
Intl. Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) employs 379,592 people, generates revenue of $92,793.00 million and has a net income of $15,752.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $139.55 billion.Intl. Business Machines’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $25,350.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 27.32% (the operating margin is 21.54% and the net profit margin 16.98%).
Financials: The total debt represents 34.72% of Intl. Business Machines assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 343.82%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 90.89% was realized by Intl. Business Machines.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $15.01. Last fiscal year, Intl. Business Machines paid $4.25 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 9.56, the P/S ratio is 1.50 and the P/B ratio is finally 11.89. The dividend yield amounts to 3.65%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Intl. Business Machines (IBM) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Intl. Business Machines (IBM) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Intl. Business Machines (IBM) |
The Coca-Cola Company -- Yield: 3.33%
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) employs 129,200 people, generates revenue of $45,998.00 million and has a net income of $7,124.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $172.52 billion.The Coca-Cola Company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $12,474.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 27.12% (the operating margin is 21.04% and the net profit margin 15.49%).
Financials: The total debt represents 45.36% of The Coca-Cola Company assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 137.68%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 22.36% was realized by The Coca-Cola Company.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.71. Last fiscal year, The Coca-Cola Company paid $1.22 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 23.32, the P/S ratio is 3.75 and the P/B ratio is finally 5.71. The dividend yield amounts to 3.33%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of The Coca-Cola Company (KO) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of The Coca-Cola Company (KO) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of The Coca-Cola Company (KO) |
Kellogg Company -- Yield: 3.01%
Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) employs 29,790 people, generates revenue of $14,580.00 million and has a net income of $639.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $23.50 billion.Kellogg Company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $1,945.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 13.34% (the operating margin is 7.02% and the net profit margin 4.38%).
Financials: The total debt represents 48.64% of Kellogg Company assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 264.25%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 19.96% was realized by Kellogg Company.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.06. Last fiscal year, Kellogg Company paid $1.90 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 62.44, the P/S ratio is 1.61 and the P/B ratio is finally 8.48. The dividend yield amounts to 3.01%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Kellogg Company (K) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Kellogg Company (K) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Kellogg Company (K) |