Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is one of the top dividend stocks you can buy. It has been increasing its payouts for decades and is typically all but a guarantee to raise its dividend every year. Last week, the company announced it was increasing its dividend for a 67th consecutive year. In total, the company has been paying a dividend for 133 years, dating back to 1890.
The latest increase was a 3% bump up to the dividend to $0.9407. At that rate, the company is now paying $3.76 per share over the course of a full year. With the increase, the stock's yield is now at 2.5%, which is better than the S&P 500 average of around 1.7%. If you wanted to collect $1,000 in dividends from the stock every year, you would need to invest about $40,000 based on its current dividend rate. While that may seem a bit high, you would need to invest nearly $60,000 if its rate was closer to the S&P's average.
Procter & Gamble has a solid consumer business that allows it to perform well in downturns and in inflationary periods, when it can pass on rising prices to consumers, who in many cases, will be willing to pay for the company's top brands. From Pampers to Bounce, to Tide, Procter & Gamble owns many top consumer brands that are staples in households all over the world.
The stock makes for a great dividend investment and it's a stable buy. While the S&P has declined 6% over the past 12 months, shares of Procter & Gamble are down just 5%.
