It is no secret that we are advocates for investing in high-quality dividend growth stocks. One of the easiest ways to target the best dividend growth stocks is to focus on the Dividend Aristocrats, which have increased their dividends for 25+ consecutive years. You can see all 53 Dividend Aristocrats here.
Tobacco giant Altria Group (MO) is not officially a Dividend Aristocrat, because its various spin-offs over the years technically reduced its dividend payout at times. But it is a Dividend Achiever, which has increased dividends each year for 10+ consecutive years. You can see the entire list of all 266 Dividend Achievers here.
Altria has increased its dividend 52 times in the past 49 years, including two increases in the past year. Altria stock has gotten off to a rough start to 2018. Shares are down over 20% year-to-date, but the decline has pushed Altria’s dividend yield above 5%. The combination of a 5%+ dividend yield and high dividend growth makes Altria much more attractive near its 52-week low price.
