Dividend Stock Portfolio For Income: 12 Stocks to Buy Now

Core Viewpoint - Dividend-paying stocks are perceived to offer stronger returns with lower volatility, making them attractive to investors seeking stable income portfolios [1][2]. Group 1: Historical Performance of Dividend Stocks - Research from Ned Davis indicates that S&P 500 companies paying dividends delivered annualized returns of 9.2%, significantly higher than the 4.3% from non-dividend payers, over the past 50 years [2]. - Over this period, dividend payers would have increased investors' wealth to approximately 10 times more compared to nonpayers, outperforming an equal-weighted basket of all stocks in the index [2]. Group 2: Investment Strategy and Methodology - A quality-oriented investment strategy focuses on companies that consistently raise dividends, which are typically viewed as financially sound with competitive advantages [3]. - The methodology for selecting stocks involved using a stock screener to identify companies that have raised dividends for at least 10 consecutive years, narrowing down to those with dividend yields around 1% as of September 18 [6]. Group 3: Notable Dividend Stocks - Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) has a strong dividend history with 48 consecutive years of dividend growth, offering a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share and a yield of 2.98% as of September 18 [11]. - NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has raised its dividends for 29 consecutive years, currently offering a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share and a yield of 3.20% as of September 18 [14]. - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) has grown its dividends for 16 consecutive years, declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share with a yield of 5.42% as of September 18 [17].