More than 75% of the stocks in the S&P 500 pay a dividend, and the dividend for many of them exceeds the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds (currently around 3.2%).
However, screening for the highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 reveals some even more impressive yields. In fact, most of these high-dividend stocks in the S&P 500 currently yield over 6%. And the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks all yield above 5%.
Higher yields come with higher risks, though. Many of these stocks’ yields are so high because they’re struggling, and some may end up slashing their dividends.
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From highest yield (13.6%) to lowest yield (5.6%), here are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today:
The 10 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500
| Rank | Company (Ticker) | Dividend Yield |
| 1 | Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) | 13.60% |
| 2 | Altria (MO) | 7.20% |
| 3 | LyondellBasell (LYB) | 6.70% |
| 4 | Dow Inc. (DOW) | 6.60% |
| 5 | Ford (F) | 6.60% |
| 6 | Pfizer (PFE) | 6.50% |
| 7 | Verizon (VZ) | 6.30% |
| 8 | Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) | 6.20% |
| 9 | Franklin Resources (BEN) | 5.70% |
| 10 | Realty Income (O) | 5.60% |
Here’s a closer look at each one of the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks.
1. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
Dividend Yield: 13.6%
Walgreens Boots Alliance is the multinational operator of Walgreens (U.S.) and Boots (U.K.) pharmacies. The company regularly appears on this list but is currently struggling with muted consumer spending at its locations and the end of the covid vaccine push. As a result, the company announced it’s closing 450 stores (150 U.S. & 300 U.K.) and reducing workforce (10%) when it reported Q1 earnings. Second- and third-quarter earnings reflected significant write-downs associated with the physician-staffed VillageMD clinics ($12.4 billion; a major contributor to the $13.1 billion in operating losses the firm has taken through the first nine months of the fiscal year). That sizable one-time loss muted the impact of slight sales improvement, but it’s a black eye nonetheless. Given the recent struggles, that shares are coming off their worst years on record and with the share price at levels not seen since the mid-'90s, this is probably one entry on the list to avoid.
2. Altria (MO)
Dividend Yield: 7.2%
Altria is well known as one of the world’s biggest producers of tobacco and other smoking-related products. The company is equally well known as being one of the most persistent high-dividend payers among U.S.-based, blue-chip companies, with a current quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share (this was raised from $0.98 in the latest quarter). Indeed, Altria’s dividend payouts have just about doubled in the last 10 years. And while some investors are concerned that Altria’s cigarette and tobacco business likely faces headwinds from consumers’ shifting preferences, its investments in increasingly popular vaping and cannabis products should ensure the company’s revenue growth going forward.
3. LyondellBasell (LYB)
Dividend Yield: 6.7%
LyondellBasell is an international chemical company with U.S. operations headquartered in Houston, TX. The company is the third-largest independent chemical manufacturer in the U.S. and the largest licensor of polyethylene and polypropylene technologies, which are used in a variety of packaging, automotive and transportation, agricultural and sports and leisure applications and more. As for the stock, the dividend is about all it offers for investors these days, as shares are down 16.8% in the last year and have shown little upside aside from the period immediately after the firm’s operations emerged from bankruptcy in 2010.
4. Dow Inc. (DOW)
Dividend Yield: 6.6%
Dow is a familiar name to most income investors, but it’s not quite the company of yesteryear. This iteration of Dow Inc. is primarily the material science division (most of its revenues come from plastics) of DowDuPont that was spun out of a de-merger in 2019.
And while it’s maintained the relatively high payout of its predecessor, the company’s inclusion on the list is largely due to recent underperformance. Shares have shed 23.5% in the last two months and the company recently announced plans to sell a 40% stake in some of its Gulf Coast assets for $2.4 billion. The firm has also been reviewing some of its European assets for potential sale.
Shares are down 13% since their spinoff in March 2019, making this another chemical company without much in the way of momentum on its side.
5. Ford (F)
Dividend Yield: 6.6%
Ford, the ubiquitous automaker, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Ford and Lincoln brands. The firm’s high ranking on this list is due to a special supplemental dividend of $0.18 per share that was paid in addition to its normal quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share on March 1. Supplemental dividends are always a possibility should the firm beat expectations, but absent further special dividends, the regular dividend yield is a more modest (but still attractive) 5.7%, which is still enough to place the firm in the top 10.
6. Pfizer (PFE)
Dividend Yield: 6.5%
Originally established in New York over 170 years ago, Pfizer is an American-headquartered multinational pharmaceutical and biotech company. The company has been a (mostly) reliable dividend payer for years, albeit inconsistently, with the last major dividend cuts coming on the heels of the Great Financial Crisis. But since then, they’ve steadily (if slowly) been raising their dividend, with the last hike in Q1 raising their quarterly dividend from $0.41 to $0.42. As for the stock, it’s fallen more than 29% in the last five years and is trading at levels last seen in 2013.
7. Verizon (VZ)
Dividend Yield: 6.3%
Verizon provides wired and wireless connectivity to consumers and businesses through their 4GLTE and 5G wireless networks and their wired telecom and Fios fiber optic network. The company is a dividend stalwart and regularly appears on the list of highest-paying dividend stocks. The company also offers investors exposure to the growth of the Internet of Things (IOT) and is generally an attractive long-term holding.
8. Crown Castle (CCI)
Dividend Yield: 6.2%
Crown Castle is a communications Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that operates more than 40,000 cell towers, 115,000 small cell towers and 85,000 miles of fiber optic cables in the U.S. The firm’s exposure to small cell towers positions them as a direct beneficiary of 5G expansion. The firm has grown its dividend payout 7% annually over the last five years, despite not hiking the payout last year, and believes it’ll be back on the growth track after 2025. Shares are 51% off their all-time highs and may be attractive for investors willing to wait out the lull in growth.
9. Franklin Resources (BEN)
Dividend Yield: 5.7%
Franklin Resources, which operates under the better-known Franklin Templeton brand is one of the world’s largest investment managers. As of the end of November, the firm has $1.65 trillion in assets under management (AUM), but it has been struggling with long-term asset outflows. However, the addition of Putnam Investments earlier this year resulted in a year-over-year increase in AUM by 17%. As for the dividend, the company just raised its quarterly payout to $0.32 (from $0.31), which represents a 3.3% bump over last year (the company has been hiking the quarterly dividend by a penny each year since the end of 2018).
10. Realty Income (O)
Dividend Yield: 5.6%
Realty Income is a very popular real estate investment trust (REIT), and for good reason.
The company has paid more than 650 consecutive dividends with 108 consecutive quarterly increases, and it refers to itself as “The Monthly Dividend Company.” It’s also included among the Dividend Aristocrats, so it should come as no surprise that you’ll find it in the portfolio of many income investors.
Like most REITs, it’s sensitive to rising interest rates, and the stock’s performance (down 20% in the last five years) reflects that.
It primarily invests in free-standing, single-tenant properties in the U.S., so the work-from-home trend hasn’t helped the cause. That said, with the Fed cutting rates and other rates (hopefully) on their way lower, Realty makes a compelling case for income-focused investors.
There you have it: those are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today. If you want the best dividend stocks right now regardless of yield, I highly recommend subscribing to our Cabot Dividend Investor advisory, where chief analyst Tom Hutchinson has a portfolio full of dividend-paying stocks that offer generous yields and strong share price growth.
To learn more, click here.
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*This post is periodically updated to reflect market conditions.
