To qualify for membership in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index, a stock must satisfy the following criteria:
1. Be a member of the S&P 500
2. Have increased dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years
3. Meet minimum float-adjusted market capitalization and liquidity requirements defined in the index inclusion and index exclusion rules below.
The group of companies in the Dividend Aristocrats index tend to generate reliable dividend income, and provide the potential for strong total returns. The list is well diversified across sectors.
There are 57 companies in the Dividend Aristocrats index for 2019. There were no companies removed from the list in 2018.
The four new additions include Chubb Limited (CB), Caterpillar (CAT), People's United Financial (PBCT) and United Technologies (UTX).
The 2019 Dividend Aristocrats are listed below:
Symbol
|
Name
|
Sector
|
Years of Annual Dividend Increases
|
10 year Dividend Growth
|
Dividend Yield
|
MMM
|
3M Co
|
Industrials
|
60
|
10.52%
|
2.72%
|
ABT
|
Abbott Laboratories**
|
Health Care
|
46
|
11.89%
|
1.77%
|
ABBV
|
AbbVie Inc.
|
Health Care
|
46
|
13.18%
|
5.45%
|
AFL
|
AFLAC Inc
|
Financials
|
36
|
8.04%
|
2.18%
|
APD
|
Air Products & Chemicals Inc
|
Materials
|
37
|
9.60%
|
2.82%
|
ADM
|
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co
|
Consumer Staples
|
43
|
9.93%
|
2.98%
|
T
|
AT&T Inc
|
Communication Services
|
35
|
2.26%
|
6.89%
|
ADP
|
Automatic Data Processing
|
Information Technology
|
44
|
10.05%
|
2.26%
|
BDX
|
Becton Dickinson & Co
|
Health Care
|
47
|
10.23%
|
1.25%
|
BF.B
|
Brown-Forman Corp B
|
Consumer Staples
|
35
|
8.10%
|
1.41%
|
CAH
|
Cardinal Health Inc
|
Health Care
|
23
|
17.52%
|
3.81%
|
CAT
|
Caterpillar Inc
|
Industrials
|
25
|
7.71%
|
2.63%
|
CVX
|
PBCT
|
Energy
|
32
|
5.88%
|
3.98%
|
CB
|
Chubb Ltd
|
Financials
|
25
|
10.20%
|
2.19%
|
CINF
|
Cincinnati Financial Corp
|
Financials
|
58
|
3.20%
|
2.61%
|
CTAS
|
Cintas Corp
|
Industrials
|
36
|
16.12%
|
1.09%
|
CLX
|
Clorox Co
|
Consumer Staples
|
41
|
8.02%
|
2.59%
|
KO
|
Coca-Cola Co
|
Consumer Staples
|
56
|
7.46%
|
3.17%
|
CL
|
Colgate-Palmolive Co
|
Consumer Staples
|
55
|
7.85%
|
2.58%
|
ED
|
Consolidated Edison Inc
|
Utilities
|
45
|
2.03%
|
3.81%
|
DOV
|
Dover Corp
|
Industrials
|
63
|
9.72%
|
2.19%
|
ECL
|
Ecolab Inc
|
Materials
|
27
|
12.17%
|
1.16%
|
EMR
|
Emerson Electric Co
|
Industrials
|
62
|
4.69%
|
2.90%
|
XOM
|
Exxon Mobil Corp
|
Energy
|
36
|
7.62%
|
4.38%
|
FRT
|
Federal Realty Invt Trust
|
Real Estate
|
51
|
4.95%
|
3.08%
|
BEN
|
Franklin Resources Inc
|
Financials
|
39
|
13.18%
|
3.46%
|
GD
|
General Dynamics
|
Industrials
|
27
|
10.48%
|
2.17%
|
GPC
|
Genuine Parts Co
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
62
|
6.33%
|
2.89%
|
GWW
|
Grainger W.W. Inc
|
Industrials
|
47
|
13.21%
|
1.84%
|
HRL
|
Hormel Foods Corp
|
Consumer Staples
|
53
|
15.02%
|
1.98%
|
ITW
|
Illinois Tool Works Inc
|
Industrials
|
44
|
11.25%
|
2.91%
|
JNJ
|
Johnson & Johnson
|
Health Care
|
56
|
7.03%
|
2.71%
|
KMB
|
Kimberly-Clark
|
Consumer Staples
|
47
|
6.20%
|
3.70%
|
LEG
|
Leggett & Platt
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
47
|
4.00%
|
3.71%
|
LIN
|
Linde plc
|
Materials
|
25
|
8.20%
|
2.02%
|
LOW
|
Lowe's Cos Inc
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
56
|
18.36%
|
2.00%
|
MKC
|
McCormick & Co
|
Consumer Staples
|
33
|
8.98%
|
1.84%
|
MCD
|
McDonald's Corp
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
43
|
9.94%
|
2.60%
|
MDT
|
Medtronic plc
|
Health Care
|
41
|
11.88%
|
2.26%
|
NUE
|
Nucor Corp
|
Materials
|
46
|
1.50%
|
2.61%
|
PNR
|
Pentair PLC
|
Industrials
|
43
|
4.44%
|
1.75%
|
PBCT
|
People's United Financial
|
Financials
|
26
|
1.80%
|
4.27%
|
PEP
|
PepsiCo Inc
|
Consumer Staples
|
46
|
8.03%
|
3.28%
|
PPG
|
PPG Industries Inc
|
Materials
|
47
|
5.94%
|
1.82%
|
PG
|
Procter & Gamble
|
Consumer Staples
|
62
|
6.25%
|
2.97%
|
ROP
|
Roper Technologies, Inc
|
Industrials
|
26
|
18.99%
|
0.65%
|
SPGI
|
S&P Global
|
Financials
|
45
|
8.56%
|
1.19%
|
SHW
|
Sherwin-Williams Co
|
Materials
|
40
|
9.41%
|
0.82%
|
AOS
|
Smith A.O. Corp
|
Industrials
|
25
|
19.94%
|
1.84%
|
SWK
|
Stanley Black & Decker
|
Industrials
|
51
|
7.43%
|
2.09%
|
SYY
|
Sysco Corp
|
Consumer Staples
|
49
|
5.05%
|
2.44%
|
TROW
|
T Rowe Price Group Inc
|
Financials
|
32
|
11.30%
|
3.00%
|
TGT
|
Target Corp
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
51
|
15.43%
|
3.51%
|
UTX
|
United Technologies
|
Industrials
|
25
|
7.74%
|
2.47%
|
VFC
|
VF Corp
|
Consumer Discretionary
|
46
|
12.49%
|
2.40%
|
WBA
|
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc
|
Consumer Staples
|
43
|
15.01%
|
2.44%
|
WMT
|
Wal-Mart
|
Consumer Staples
|
45
|
8.30%
|
2.19%
|
The index has generated strong total returns over time past decade. I wanted to note that in 2008, the Dividend Aristocrats index declined by 21.88%. The S&P 500 however declined by 37%. The dividend aristocrats index tends to shine during bear markets and low return environments. However, it also pulls its weight when we are in a bull market too. It is the best of both worlds really.
I first stumbled upon the Dividend Aristocrats index in late 2007, and instantly understood why dividend growth investing is such a powerful wealth generating tool. If someone had invested in the Dividend Aristocrats index after reading my review of the list at the beginning of 2008, they would have tripled their money. An investment in the dividend aristocrats a decade ago, would have resulted in a total return of 350%. In other words, investing $100 in the Dividend Aristocrats list in February 2019 would have turned into $454. The same amount investing in S&P 500 would have turned into $395.
As I gained more experience however, I have gravitated more towards the Dividend Champions list, which was created by Dave Fish. The Dividend Champions list is more complete, as it doesn’t exclude companies due to low liquidity, or due to market capitalization below a certain threshold. In addition, I find that historically, the list of Dividend Champions has followed a more consistent approach than the list of Dividend Aristocrats. Sadly, Dave passed away last year. Luckily, another person has agreed to update it for the time being. You can view the 2019 Dividend Champions List here.
When I review the list of historical changes in the Dividend Aristocrats index, I see some inconsistencies in the way portfolio components are added or removed.
For example, the Dividend Aristocrats index removed Altria in 2007, after it spun-off Kraft Foods and as a result its dividend decreased. It could be argued that the dividend income for the investor was not decreased, because they kept getting a dividend from Altria as well as dividends from Kraft Foods.
The S&P committee seems to have rectified this issue, and have kept both Abbott and Abbvie after legacy Abbott Laboratories split in two companies in early 2013.
Ironically, Dave Fish had Altria listed as a Dividend Champion. However, he didn’t have Abbott nor Abbvie listed as a dividend champion ( they are listed as Dividend Aristocrats however).
Last year, I found out that Cardinal Health (CAH) has only been able to grow dividends for 23 years in a row. This is why it is not on the dividend champions list. The dividend aristocrats list however has a 31 year streak of annual dividend increases listed.
This is why you need to perform your own checks as an investor.
In addition, I wanted to let you know that I would not purchase all companies from either lists blindly. I run my entry criteria screen to come up with a list of companies for further research. Before investing in any individual stock, I research it enough to gain some understanding of the business and its trends in fundamentals.
Relevant Articles:
- Dividend Champions, Contenders & Challengers: The most complete list of US dividend growth stocks available
- Dividend Aristocrats List for 2017
- Dividend Aristocrats for Dividend Growth and Total Returns
- Where are the original Dividend Aristocrats now?
- Historical changes of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats
- Why do I like the Dividend Aristocrats?
- Dividend Aristocrats List for 2016
