Here Are 5 Dividend Stocks To Check Out Right Now
Volatility appears to be the name of the stock market game this week as investors weigh their options. As such, it would not surprise me to see high dividend stocks being among the most active stocks around now. For the most part, this would be thanks to the more defensive nature of this group of stocks. Now, when it comes to picking dividend stocks, investors would ideally want to look at firms whose businesses are rock solid. Because, said companies are often the ones that can afford to pay and increase their dividends consistently. With a quarterly or even monthly payout in some cases, some investors could be considering dividend stocks now.
For instance, we could take a look at companies such as 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). At face value, both companies seem worlds apart. Firstly, 3M primarily works in the materials sector, one that plays a crucial role across numerous key industries worldwide. Secondly, Abbott is in the business of developing and manufacturing crucial medical devices. What connects the two might you ask? Well, namely, both companies have been paying and increasing their dividends for over the past 40 years. Aside from these two examples, there are plenty of notable dividend-paying stocks in the stock market today. On that note, could one of these five be worth jumping on now?
Top Dividend Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] Today
- Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO)
- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)
- Amcor (NYSE: AMCR)
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS)
- International Business Machine Corporation (NYSE: IBM)
Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola is a multinational beverage corporation whose products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Its multiple billion-dollar brands are spread across several beverage categories worldwide. This includes sparkling soft drink brands like Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Fanta. It also includes hydration, sports, coffee and tea brands. It employs more than 700,000 people across the globe and continues to positively impact the lives of its consumers. On October 21, 2021, the company declared a dividend of $0.42 per common share and it will be made payable on December 15, 2021.
In late October, the company reported its third-quarter financials. It sees continued momentum and strong results with revenues growing by 16% year-over-year to $10 billion. Impressively, this is already ahead of its pre-pandemic levels. Operating margin was 28.9% compared to 26.6% in the prior year. Coca-Cola also reported an earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter, growing by 41% compared to a year earlier. Given the strong quarter, is KO stock worth investing in right now?
[Read More] Top Stocks To Buy Now? 4 Renewable Energy Stocks For Your Watchlist
Caterpillar Inc.
Next up, we have Caterpillar, the world’s leading construction machinery and equipment company. It designs and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines among others. With close to a hundred years in the industry, the company continues to offer services built on cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise. On November 22, 2021, the company announced a three-year project through a collaboration with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP).
Together, the companies will demonstrate a power system incorporating large-format hydrogen fuel cells to produce reliable and sustainable backup power for Microsoft data centers. The project is supported and partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the H2@Scale initiative and backed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). “At Caterpillar, we focus on supporting our customers with reliable, resilient and economical power solutions while achieving their climate-related goals,” said Jason Kaiser, vice president for Caterpillar’s Electric Power Division. “This hydrogen fuel cell demonstration project enables us to collaborate with industry leaders to take a large step toward commercially viable power solutions that also support our customers in making their operations more sustainable.” With this piece of information, will you consider CAT stock a buy?
[Read More] Best Growth Stocks To Buy? 4 E-Commerce Stocks To Watch
Amcor Inc.
Amcor is a packaging company that develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers and cartons for medical-device, pharmaceutical, and food products. In essence, the company works with leading companies around the world to protect their product and the people who rely on them. It is focused on making packaging that is increasingly light-weighted, recyclable, and reusable.
Recently, the company announced a state-of-the-art health care packaging facility in Singapore. Amcor says that the dedicated health care packaging facility will address a current and future market need as demand for health care packaging is rapidly increasing across the region. Amcor’s new Tuas facility comprises cleanroom manufacturing environments, capability in three-, seven- and nine-layer co-extrusion blown film, and state-of-the-art flexographic printing. It is also fully certified to ISO 13485, ensuring the ability to fully satisfy industry regulatory requirements. With that being said, is AMCR stock worth adding to your portfolio?
Morgan Stanley
Another name to consider among dividend stocks now would be Morgan Stanley (MS). As one of the biggest banks in the U.S. market now, this is understandable. After all, the firm currently manages over $1.5 trillion in total assets, according to its latest estimates. Through its massive investment banking operations, the company has and continues to gain momentum. Evidently, MS stock is currently sitting on gains of over 230% since its pandemic era low.
Even so, analysts seem to think that the company’s shares still have room to run. Earlier today, Citibank (NYSE: C) analyst Ken Horowitz hit MS stock with a Buy rating. According to Horowitz, Citibank sees “further multiple expansion as MS delivers on its wealth management opportunity”. Not to mention, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently noted that interest rate increases could come in the next few months. Powell made these remarks earlier this week, citing the current rate of the economic recovery. Ideally, this could see MS having more favorable operating conditions across the board. With all that said, would you consider MS stock a top buy now?
[Read More] Best Monthly Dividend Stocks To Buy? 4 For Your December 2021 Watchlist
International Business Machine Corporation
Next, we will be taking a look at the International Business Machine Corporation (IBM). While the company may be a titan in the tech world, it also has an admirable dividend payout history. Since 1916, IBM has been consistently paying consecutive dividends and currently has a quarterly cash dividend of $1.64 per share. More importantly, the company is among the leading names in the tech industry today. This is evident from its work across numerous emerging tech fields. Whether it is quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), or machine learning, IBM is hard at work on it.
Despite the current scale of its portfolio, IBM does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. As of earlier this week, the company is acquiring SXiQ, an Australian digital transformation services firm. Notably, SXiQ specializes in cloud applications, platforms, and cybersecurity. In theory, the move would serve to bolster IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI divisions. All things considered, will you be keeping an eye on IBM stock?
