5 Top Dividend Stocks To Watch This Week
Amid a volatile market and a hawkish Fed, dividend stocks could be worth noting in the stock market. For one, investors will be watching for the upcoming personal consumer expenditures (PCE) index set to release on Friday. Seen as the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, economists are expecting the PCE to post another climb of 0.9% in March. In February, core PCE jumped by 5.4%, the largest increase in nearly 40 years. On the other hand, we also have the Federal Reserve ramping up its hawkish tone and suggesting large incoming interest rate hikes. As such, investors could be making a list of the best dividend stocks to buy.
Investors may be looking at the likes of IBM (NYSE: IBM). The company offers a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share. On top of that, the company has been raising its dividend for the past 26 years as well. Another option could be PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP). The company recently raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $1.08 per share. Besides that, the consumer staples giant is set to report its quarterly financials this Tuesday. With that being said, check out these five dividend stocks in the stock market today.
Dividend Stocks To Buy [Or Avoid] Today
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB)
- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG)
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH)
- Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST)
Kimberly-Clark
Starting us off, we have Kimberly-Clark, a multinational personal care company. For the most part, it produces mostly paper-based consumer products. This would include the likes of sanitary paper products and surgical and medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark boasts a portfolio of famous household brands such as Kleenex, Kotex, Scott, and Huggies to name a few. And for a sense of scale, the company has over 40,000 employees. The company in late January announced a quarterly dividend payout of $1.16 per share.
Last week, the company reported its financials for the first quarter of 2022. Diving in, the personal care company brought in net sales of $5.1 billion, up by 7% from the year-ago period. As for its profits, the company reported earnings of $1.55 per share for the first quarter. For its 2022 outlook, it is expecting net sales to increase by 2% to 4%. Adjusted earnings per share are forecasted to range between $5.60 and $6. Given the earnings report, should you give KMB stock a go?
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Procter & Gamble
Another top dividend stock to watch for is Procter & Gamble (PG). The consumer staples company serves customers around the world with its wide portfolio of everyday items. For a sense of scale, the company sells its products in over 180 countries and territories. From its shaving products Gillette to beauty products like Pantene, chances are, you have something in your house that is made by PG. Earlier this month, the company declared a dividend payout of $0.913 per share, marking the 66th consecutive year that PG has increased its dividend.
And last Wednesday, the company reported quarterly revenue and earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates. Starting with the company’s revenue, it brought in $19.38 billion, up by 7% year-over-year and surpassing estimates of $18.73 billion. Moving on, PG brought in adjusted earnings of $1.33 per share, exceeding the $1.29 Wall Street was expecting. Accordingly, net income came in at $3.36 billion, up from $3.27 billion a year earlier. Considering the solid quarter, should you invest in PG stock?
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson, or JNJ for short, is a legacy healthcare company that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. It has been around for more than a century and is one of the largest and most broadly-based health companies in the world. With over 130 years of history, the company strives to improve access and affordability for the millions of people that depend on the company’s products. Last week, JNJ announced a dividend payout of $1.13 per share, an increase from $1.06 per share in the previous quarter.
Last Tuesday, the company reported its first-quarter financials for 2022. Cutting to the chase, total sales grew by 5% from $22.3 billion to $23.4 billion. As for its adjusted earnings, the company reported $2.67 a share, increasing by 3.1% from $2.59. Looking at its segments, its Pharmaceutical segment saw a rise of 6.3% in sales this quarter. Meanwhile, the MedTech segment recorded an increase of 5.9% in sales. CEO Joaquin Duato added, “Our first-quarter results demonstrate strong performance across the enterprise, despite macro-economic headwinds.” Given this quarter’s results, should you be watching JNJ stock?
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UnitedHealth
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is a multinational health care and insurance company. The company is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making health care work for everyone. Moreover, it offers a full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. UNH also contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals. In February, UNH declared a dividend payout of $1.45 per share.
On April 14, UNH reported results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2022. Jumping in, revenues came in at $80.1 billion, an increase of almost $10 billion. This translates into year-over-year growth of 14.2%. The company saw strong double-digit growth in both its Optum and UnitedHealth segment. Moving on, earnings came in at $7 billion compared to $6.7 billion last year. This growth was led by Optum Health and its expansion of value-based care delivery initiatives. All in all, is UNH stock a buy?
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Costco
Costco is another notable name to consider as a dividend stock. It is the membership-only big-box retail store that many of us are likely familiar with. After all, it is the go-to store when consumers wish to buy items in bulk. Costco sells a variety of products ranging from dry food and sundries to consumer durables to fresh food. Recently, the retailer raised the quarterly dividend to $0.90 per share, a 13.9% increment.
The increase reflects the company’s strong cash flow generation capability, driven by better execution of operating plans. Besides that, the company posted solid sales results in March. Notably, net sales came in at $21.61 billion, a year-over-year increase of 18.7% from $18.21 billion. Along with that, comparable sales for the five-week period rose 17% year-over-year. As for its e-commerce segment, sales rose by 8.9%. Thus, would you add COST stock to your portfolio?
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