I have been following stock for over 25 years and some of my favorite and frequent stocks I invest in are in the S&P Aristocrats Dividend List. Over the past 10 years, when the stock market has been on a historic bull run, the companies that make up the Dividend Aristocrat Index have consistently outperformed the S& P500 index, delivering higher total returns to investors with less volatility.
The S&P Dividend Aristocrat Index has kept pace with the market in the years since the financial crisis. According to S&P, the index has delivered an annualized return of 16.6% over the past 10 years, in addition to the 15.0% return on the markets.
The group of companies in the Dividend Aristocrats index tends to generate reliable dividend income and provide the potential for strong total returns. The list is well diversified across sectors.
What are the Dividend Aristocrats?
The S&P Dividend Aristocrats index tracks companies in the S&P 500 that have increased dividends every year for at least 25 years in a row. The index is equally weighted and rebalanced every quarter.
Joining the S & P 500 as a dividend aristocrat is a sign of growth and consistency. The 65-member group has been paying a high dividend for 25 years. Only five of their constituents are on the clock because they have not increased their payouts in 2020 and will have to pay out more to shareholders in 2021 to retain their status.
While the character of the dividend aristocrat index barely changes, more companies tend to lose dividend aristocrat status during recessions. In 2009 and 2010, 19% of all companies and almost half of banks and financial institutions fell off the list as a result of dividend cuts during the global financial crisis. In rare cases, shares lose their dividend status.
To qualify for membership in the “Dividend Aristocrats index”, the company’s stock must meet all the following criteria:
- The company must be a member of the S&P 500.
- It must have increased dividends every year for 25 consecutive years
- Lastly, the company must meet the minimum liquidity requirements and float-adjusted market capitalization.
Since the inception of the index in 1989, the number of holdings has fluctuated from 26 to 65 holdings. It is still not even half the number of Dividend Champions, however.
Currently there are 65 companies in the Dividend Aristocrats index for 2021.
For 2021, there were a couple of changes. The index added: West Pharmaceutical Services (WST), International Business Machines (IBM), and NextEra Energy (NEE)
At the same time index removed: Raytheon Technologies (RTX), Ross Stores (ROST) Otis (OTIS), and Carrier (CARR).
In 2020, United Technologies spun off Otis Elevator (OTIS) and Carrier (CARR) and, before merging with Raytheon (RTX) to form Raytheon Technologies (RTX). The S&P committee eliminated the descendants of United Technologies from its list because the overall amount of annual dividend income was lower after the transactions than before.
List of Dividend Aristocrat List 2021 (Spreadsheet)
Here is a spreadsheet list of S&P Dividend Aristocrats. Just copy/paste onto your Excel.
Ticker | Company | Sector | Dividend Yield | Ex-Dividend Date | Beta 3-Year | YTD Return | 3-Year Return |
AMCR | Amcor | Consumer Cyclical | 4.00% | 2/23/2021 | 0.97 | 0.80% | – |
PBCT | People’s United Finl | Financial Services | 4.00% | 4/30/2021 | 1.13 | 42.40% | 13.60% |
BEN | Franklin Resources | Financial Services | 3.80% | 3/30/2021 | 1.1 | 20.50% | -0.30% |
T | AT&T | Communication Services | 6.70% | 4/8/2021 | 0.76 | 11.20% | 13.10% |
HRL | Hormel Foods | Consumer Defensive | 2.10% | 4/9/2021 | 0.42 | -0.30% | 34.50% |
LEG | Leggett & Platt | Consumer Cyclical | 3.20% | 3/12/2021 | 1.34 | 15.30% | 33.00% |
WBA | Walgreens Boots Alliance | Healthcare | 3.60% | 5/20/2021 | 0.82 | 33.50% | -12.60% |
AFL | Aflac | Financial Services | 2.50% | 2/16/2021 | 1.1 | 20.90% | 25.60% |
KO | Coca-Cola | Consumer Defensive | 3.10% | 6/14/2021 | 0.71 | -1.30% | 38.50% |
XOM | Exxon Mobil | Energy | 6.30% | 2/9/2021 | 1.05 | 37.40% | -18.30% |
ADM | Archer-Daniels Midland | Consumer Defensive | 2.50% | 2/8/2021 | 0.92 | 19.80% | 44.10% |
CAH | Cardinal Health | Healthcare | 3.20% | 3/31/2021 | 0.93 | 13.80% | 5.80% |
PNR | Pentair | Industrials | 1.30% | 4/22/2021 | 1.08 | 21.50% | 48.80% |
AOS | A.O. Smith | Industrials | 1.50% | 4/29/2021 | 0.76 | 24.50% | 14.50% |
O | Realty Income | Real Estate | 4.10% | 4/30/2021 | 0.99 | 12.80% | 56.60% |
BF.B | Brown-Forman | Consumer Defensive | 1.00% | 3/5/2021 | 0.82 | -4.10% | 41.30% |
ED | Consolidated Edison | Utilities | 4.00% | 5/18/2021 | 0.55 | 7.50% | 8.20% |
NEE | NextEra Energy | Utilities | 2.00% | 2/25/2021 | 0.76 | 1.50% | 104.70% |
CL | Colgate-Palmolive | Consumer Defensive | 2.30% | 4/20/2021 | 0.63 | -6.20% | 28.00% |
NUE | Nucor | Basic Materials | 2.00% | 3/30/2021 | 1.14 | 52.30% | 40.00% |
SYY | Sysco | Consumer Defensive | 2.20% | 3/31/2021 | 1.13 | 12.10% | 41.00% |
VFC | VF | Consumer Cyclical | 2.20% | 3/9/2021 | 1.19 | 3.40% | 26.40% |
MKC | McCormick & Co | Consumer Defensive | 1.50% | 4/9/2021 | 0.66 | -5.10% | 76.90% |
EMR | Emerson Electric | Industrials | 2.20% | 2/11/2021 | 1.18 | 15.30% | 48.90% |
CVX | Chevron | Energy | 5.10% | 2/16/2021 | 1.23 | 21.90% | -6.30% |
ATO | Atmos Energy | Utilities | 2.40% | 2/19/2021 | 0.69 | 8.00% | 26.10% |
CINF | Cincinnati Financial | Financial Services | 2.30% | 3/16/2021 | 1.11 | 25.50% | 65.70% |
EXPD | Expeditors International | Industrials | 1.00% | 11/30/2020 | 0.78 | 15.30% | 78.20% |
FRT | Federal Realty Investment | Real Estate | 3.90% | 3/15/2021 | 1.02 | 30.40% | 8.10% |
ABBV | AbbVie | Healthcare | 4.70% | 4/14/2021 | 0.76 | 6.50% | 33.30% |
GPC | Genuine Parts | Consumer Cyclical | 2.70% | 3/4/2021 | 1.02 | 22.60% | 50.80% |
ABT | Abbott Laboratories | Healthcare | 1.50% | 4/14/2021 | 0.89 | 12.80% | 116.20% |
MDT | Medtronic | Healthcare | 1.80% | 3/25/2021 | 0.91 | 11.60% | 72.40% |
KMB | Kimberly-Clark | Consumer Defensive | 3.50% | 3/4/2021 | 0.52 | -2.30% | 40.10% |
PG | Procter & Gamble | Consumer Defensive | 2.70% | 4/22/2021 | 0.65 | -4.50% | 95.90% |
WMT | Walmart | Consumer Defensive | 1.60% | 5/6/2021 | 0.53 | -3.90% | 66.20% |
IBM | IBM | Technology | 4.60% | 2/9/2021 | 0.97 | 14.00% | 11.60% |
PEP | PepsiCo | Consumer Defensive | 2.90% | 3/4/2021 | 0.78 | -2.60% | 52.10% |
DOV | Dover | Industrials | 1.40% | 2/25/2021 | 1.11 | 16.40% | 107.00% |
JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Healthcare | 2.60% | 5/24/2021 | 0.65 | 4.90% | 39.10% |
CB | Chubb | Financial Services | 1.90% | 3/18/2021 | 0.95 | 8.40% | 30.10% |
ALB | Albemarle | Basic Materials | 0.90% | 3/11/2021 | 1.21 | 15.90% | 85.80% |
PPG | PPG Industries | Basic Materials | 1.30% | 5/7/2021 | 0.93 | 20.50% | 69.40% |
TROW | T. Rowe Price Gr | Financial Services | 2.40% | 3/15/2021 | 1.21 | 18.90% | 73.10% |
GD | General Dynamics | Industrials | 2.60% | 4/8/2021 | 0.91 | 26.20% | -5.70% |
CLX | Clorox | Consumer Defensive | 2.40% | 4/20/2021 | 0.29 | -5.90% | 73.90% |
ADP | Automatic Data Processing | Industrials | 1.90% | 6/10/2021 | 1.08 | 11.30% | 75.40% |
LOW | Lowe’s Companies | Consumer Cyclical | 1.20% | 4/20/2021 | 1.14 | 24.90% | 152.30% |
MMM | 3M | Industrials | 3.00% | 2/11/2021 | 0.84 | 15.20% | 11.70% |
TGT | Target | Consumer Defensive | 1.30% | 5/18/2021 | 0.7 | 15.80% | 206.80% |
SWK | Stanley Black & Decker | Industrials | 1.40% | 6/7/2021 | 1.44 | 16.10% | 51.60% |
ECL | Ecolab | Basic Materials | 0.90% | 3/15/2021 | 1.04 | 5.10% | 59.90% |
ITW | Illinois Tool Works | Industrials | 2.00% | 3/30/2021 | 1.04 | 12.20% | 74.00% |
CAT | Caterpillar | Industrials | 1.80% | 4/23/2021 | 1.08 | 27.90% | 70.70% |
MCD | McDonald’s | Consumer Cyclical | 2.20% | 2/26/2021 | 0.81 | 8.90% | 57.30% |
BDX | Becton, Dickinson | Healthcare | 1.30% | 3/9/2021 | 0.64 | 3.20% | 14.90% |
SHW | Sherwin-Williams | Basic Materials | 0.80% | 5/20/2021 | 0.93 | 10.30% | 123.70% |
LIN | Linde | Basic Materials | 1.50% | 3/4/2021 | 0.95 | 10.30% | 96.20% |
APD | Air Products & Chemicals | Basic Materials | 2.10% | 3/31/2021 | 0.99 | 6.80% | 87.00% |
ESS | Essex Property Trust | Real Estate | 2.80% | 3/30/2021 | 0.89 | 26.00% | 37.20% |
WST | West Pharmaceutical Servs | Healthcare | 0.20% | 4/20/2021 | 0.74 | 13.90% | 262.00% |
CTAS | Cintas | Industrials | 0.90% | 5/13/2021 | 1.18 | -0.90% | 109.00% |
SPGI | S&P Global | Financial Services | 0.80% | 2/23/2021 | 1.09 | 17.10% | 107.60% |
GWW | W.W. Grainger | Industrials | 1.50% | 2/5/2021 | 0.99 | 3.20% | 60.20% |
ROP | Roper Technologies | Industrials | 0.50% | 4/1/2021 | 0.97 | 0.60% | 65.20% |