The Coca-Cola Company (KO): One of the Best Dividend Monarchs to Invest in Now

Dividend-focused investors are mostly well-acquainted with presumption similar Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings, but galore whitethorn not beryllium alert of a lesser-known radical called Dividend Monarchs. While they autumn nether the broader class of dividend maturation stocks, they transportation a chiseled title. The Dividend Monarchs Index highlights US companies that person managed to rise their dividends consistently for astatine slightest 50 consecutive years. These firms person weathered decades of marketplace ups and downs, showcasing some resilience and dependable show successful presumption of dividend maturation and banal returns. As an improvement of the well-known S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index Series, the S&P Dividend Monarchs Index sets an adjacent higher standard, recognizing a much exclusive tier of semipermanent dividend payers.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has been a pioneer successful dividend maturation strategies since the 1980s, initially tracking US companies with astatine slightest 10 years of dividend increases. As the fig of specified companies grew, the threshold was raised to 25 years, forming the ground for the Dividend Aristocrats Index, launched successful 2005. This scale became a wide recognized benchmark, yet expanding to see mid- and small-cap stocks arsenic good arsenic planetary markets. By April 2023, implicit $40 cardinal successful ETF assets tracked these indices. With a rising fig of companies present surpassing 50 consecutive years of dividend maturation crossed antithetic marketplace caps, S&P introduced the Dividend Monarchs Index successful 2023 to bespeak this caller elite group.

The cardinal favoritism betwixt Dividend Kings and Dividend Monarchs lies successful the inclusion criteria. While some necessitate astatine slightest 50 consecutive years of dividend increases, Dividend Monarchs indispensable besides conscionable circumstantial standards acceptable by S&P. To suffice for the Dividend Monarchs Index, a institution indispensable beryllium portion of the Composite 1500, person a float-adjusted marketplace capitalization of astatine slightest $2 billion, support a three-month mean regular trading worth of $5 cardinal oregon more, and consistently turn its dividend implicit 5 decades. This added furniture of eligibility makes Monarchs a much selective, index-based group.

Companies that conscionable the pugnacious 50-year dividend maturation request thin to amusement beardown profitability and fiscal stability. According to an S&P Dow Jones Indices study dated April 30, 2023, the Dividend Monarchs Index outperformed some the broader marketplace and the S&P Composite successful presumption of instrumentality connected equity (ROE) and showed much accordant earnings. The study besides noted that, based connected back-tested information since January 31, 2018, the Dividend Monarchs Index displayed much antiaircraft traits—offering little volatility and smaller drawdowns than the S&P 500 during marketplace declines.