$MRK (+0.33%)
$KO (-0.37%)
$PEP (+0.08%)
$COP (-2.45%)
$MDT (-1.09%)
$MDLZ (-0.67%)
$EOG (-1.63%)
$SLB (-0.56%)
$KMB (-0.13%)
$CL (-0.97%)

What should investors look for when it comes to buying the best dividend stocks for 2025?

At Morningstar, we believe that the best dividend stocks are not simply the stocks with the highest dividends or the stocks with the best dividend yields. We recommend that investors look beyond a stock's yield and short-term performance and instead consider stocks with sustainable dividends and buy them when they are undervalued.

"As tempting as they may be, the most attractive returns on the stock market are often illusory," explains Dan Lefkovitz, strategist at Morningstar Indexes. "High dividend yields are often found in risky sectors, industries and companies." Therefore, such high dividend yields are not always sustainable.

David Harrell, the publisher of Morningstar DividendInvestor, empfiehlt,to focus on companies with management teams that support their dividend strategy and to favor companies with competitive advantages or wirtschaftlichen Burggräben to be preferred.

"An economic moat rating is obviously no guarantee of dividends, but we have found some very strong correlations between economic moats and dividend consistency," says Harrell.

Investors looking for good dividend stocks might consider adding undervalued quality dividend stocks to their portfolio.

10 best US dividend stocks to buy

To find the best U.S. dividend stocks, we turn to the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index. The dividend stocks on this list are among the top stocks in the index and were trading in the 4- and 5-star range as of June 13, 2025.

Merck MRK

Coca-Cola KO

PepsiCo PEP

ConocoPhillips COP

Medtronic MDT

Mondelez Global MDLZ

EOG Resources EOG

SLB SLB

Kimberly-Clark KMB

Colgate-Palmolive CL

Below you will find a brief description of the individual low-cost dividend stocks as well as some important Morningstar key figures. All data is valid until October 10, 2025.

Merck

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: High
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
• Expected dividend yield: 3.77
• Sector: Pharmaceuticals - General

Merck tops our list of best dividend stocks with a share price 23% below our estimated fair value of $111 per share. Merck continues to see weak demand for its HPV vaccine Gardasil in China, which has dampened revenues this year. Nevertheless, we believe Merck shares are undervalued. The company's balance sheet is solid and low risk. We expect stable future dividends, supported by a payout ratio of nearly 50% of adjusted earnings per share, according to Morningstar Director Karen Andersen.

Coca-Cola

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Broad
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Low
• Expected dividend yield: 3.04
• Sector: Beverages - non-alcoholic

Coca-Cola is the first Dividendenaristokrat on our list of this month's best dividend stocks. Dividend aristocrats are companies that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. The company's impressive brand portfolio, pricing power and relationships with retailers underpin its high Economic Moat rating, says Morningstar analyst Dan Su. We expect the dividend payment to increase in line with earnings growth over the next ten years, with the dividend payout ratio likely to stabilize above 60%, Su adds. We estimate the value of Coca-Cola shares at USD 72.

PepsiCo

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Broad
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Low
• Expected dividend yield: 3.79
• Sector: Beverages - non-alcoholic

Pepsi is the second Dividend Aristocrat on this month's list of best dividend stocks to buy. We estimate the value of the Pepsi-Aktie at $164 and the shares are trading 8% below this value. Despite short-term headwinds due to consumer austerity, we believe Pepsi continues to be able to strengthen its competitive position in beverages and snacks through marketing and product initiatives, reports Morningstar's Su. Over the next decade, we expect Pepsi's payout ratio to remain in the low 70% range on average and its dividend payment to grow in the mid-single digits annually, Su said.

ConocoPhillips

• Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Low
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: High
• Expected dividend yield: 3.56
• Sector: Oil and Gas E&P

ConocoPhillips is the first energy stock on our list of best dividend stocks and is currently trading 19% below our estimated fair value of $108. Morningstar analyst Adam Baker points out that the company has been making large acquisitions at favorable prices without burdening the balance sheet. ConocoPhillips ties cash returns to cash flow and has committed to returning 30% of operating cash flow to shareholders, keeping dividend growth moderate but committing excess cash to buybacks and a variable dividend each year.

Medtronic

• Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Low
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
• Expected dividend yield: 2.98
• Sector: Medical devices

Medtronic stock is one of the best dividend stocks and is currently trading 15% below our estimated fair value of $112. The largest pure-play medical device manufacturer is an important partner for its hospital customers thanks to its diversified product portfolio for a variety of chronic conditions, explains Morningstar Senior Equity Analyst Debbie Wang. The company aims to distribute at least 50% of its annual free cash flow to shareholders, but has been in the 60% to 70% range in recent years, Wang said. Medtronic is also a dividend aristocrat.

Mondelez Global

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Broad
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Low
• Expected dividend yield: 3.25%
• Sector: Confectionery manufacturer

Mondelez International is one of the five Unternehmen mit breitem Burggraben on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy. "Mondelez has worked tirelessly to further simplify its operations by streamlining its supplier base, divesting unprofitable brands, and continuing to modernize its manufacturing facilities," argues Morningstar Director Erin Lash. We forecast that the company will increase its dividend on average in the high single digits through fiscal 2034. We estimate the value of this top dividend stock at USD 75, and the shares are trading 18% below this value.

EOG Resources

• Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Low
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Medium
• Expected dividend yield: 3.78
• Sector: Oil and gas production

EOG Resources returns to our list of the best dividend stocks to buy this month. This top dividend stock is trading 21% below our estimated fair value of USD 137. The company aims to return 70% of free cash flow to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks. "Unlike some peers that buy back shares at top valuations when they have ample cash, EOG also returns cash via special dividends," says Morningstar Director Josh Aguilar. EOG's balance sheet is strong, and the company should have no trouble meeting its fixed and variablen Dividenden cover its fixed and floating rate debt.

SLB

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Low
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: High
• Expected dividend yield: 3.59
• Sector: Oil and gas equipment and services

SLB, the last energy stock on our list of best dividend stocks, is trading 37% below our estimated fair value of $50. SLB is the world's leading oilfield services company by market share and has built a narrow economic moat based on its cost advantages and intangible assets. Morningstar's Aguilar calls the company's distributions "shareholder friendly" and we expect management to continue to return more than half of free cash flow to shareholders in the form of dividends or buybacks.

Kimberly-Clark

• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Low
• Morningstar uncertainty rating: Medium
• Expected dividend yield: 4.22%
• Sector: Household and personal care products

Kimberly-Clark is the highest yielding stock on our list of best dividend stocks to invest in and is currently trading 15% below our estimated fair value of $140. The company's portfolio of well-known hygiene and tissue brands, including Huggies, Depend and Kleenex, generates significant excess cash, according to Morningstar's Lash. Lash's long-term outlook calls for mid-single-digit annual dividend growth. Kimberly-Clark is also a dividend aristocrat.

Colgate-Palmolive

• Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
• Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Broad
• Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Low
• Expected dividend yield: 2.67
• Sector: Household and personal care products

Colgate-Palmolive rounds out our list of best dividend stocks and is also a dividend aristocrat. The Colgate brand's solid intangible assets and cost advantages underpin the company's broad economic moat, says Morningstar's Lash. Over the next 10 years, we expect average annual dividend growth in the high single digits with a payout ratio of 55% to 60%, she adds.

Source

https://global.morningstar.com/de/aktien/die-10-besten-us-dividendenaktien?utm_source=eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Germany_Weekly&utm_content=None_68561&utm_id=35646

Bye bye $MRK (+0.33%) 👋

Good evening to the community,

I need a few opinions from you on downsizing.

at the moment there are 40 individual stocks + 1ETF in my portfolio.

I would like to minimize the existing positions to around 30 and then also increase my cash holdings.

The final list includes

$O (-0.39%) , $MRK (+0.33%) , $PG (-0.4%) , $LIN (-0.16%) , $PEP (+0.08%)

during the selection process I realized that I only picked out the "defensive stocks".

This would mean that my portfolio would then only consist of "tech stocks".

That's why I'm wondering how best to handle it to avoid a "cluster risk".

How do you personally deal with this?

What would be the alternative?

What else would you have on your final list?

I'm looking forward to the exchange!

Greetings go out to the community ✌️

Following the rebalancing of the S&P Quality Aristocrats last Friday, the following stocks were removed from or added to my two ETF indices (50% weighting):

New additions:

$QDEV (+0.22%): $NOVN (-0.92%) , $REL (+1.08%) , $ITX (+1.46%) , $LSEG (+4.15%) , $DB1 (+1.44%) and more

$QUS5 (+0.53%): $BKNG (+0.72%) , $MRK (+0.33%) , $CRM (-0.22%) , $UNP (-1.28%) , $COR (+1.18%) , $CAH (+3.64%) and more

Kicked out of both indices and therefore according to S&P no longer Quality Aristocrats are among others: $BATS (-0.17%) , $7974 (-1.81%) , $HD (+0.28%) , $LOW (-0.54%) , $HLT (-0.02%)

In addition, the allocation of all individual stocks in the indices was reduced again to max. 5 % was limited.

Thanks to the recent rally of $$HY9H (+8.78%) my current top 10 weighting (ETFs+shares) is as follows:

3.48% Alphabet

3.04% SK Hynix

3.04% Broadcom

2.93% Meta

2.75% Microsoft

2.71% Apple

2.71% NVIDIA

2.55% Taiwan Semiconductor

2.13% Mastercard

2.08% Visa

New portfolio key figures:

P/E: 27.1 (<30) 🟢

Forward P/E: 21.1 (<25) 🟢

P/Β: 11.5 (<5) 🔴

EV/FCF: 28.7 (<25) 🟡

ROE: 42% (>15%) 🟢

ROIC: 19% (>15%) 🟡

EPS growth for the next 5 years: 15% (>7%) 🟢

Sales growth for the next 5 years: 9% (>5%) 🟡

My internal rate of return is currently 20.19%

👋 Introduction & background

Hey everyone!

I'm 33, married and dad to two small children (18 months and 2 months old). I've been working in the automotive industry since 2011 and in management consulting since 2019. ⚙️🚗💼

My wife is an engineer and also works in the automotive industry. 👩‍🔧🚗

I've been with getquin since 2022, but so far I've been reading along rather than actively posting. 👀

My wife is currently on parental leave and receives parental allowance. I will go on parental leave in Q2 2026 (also with parental allowance), then she will start working again. This means that only one of us will receive a full salary until the end of 2026 - but we'll still be sticking to our savings and investment quota. 👶💶

💰 Current status:

A good mid-six-figure amount has already been saved in our custody accounts. 📈

👶 Children & investments

For each child, we invested €10,000 in the Vanguard FTSE All World ($VWRL) (+0.41%) invested. In addition, each child receives €150 per month in the same ETF - via junior custody accounts at ING. 📊

💍 My wife's investments

She invests monthly:

- 🌎 500 € in the MSCI World ($XDWL) (+0.46%)

- 💸 500 € in the Vanguard FTSE All World High Dividend ($VHYL) (+0.03%)

📈 My investment strategy

Long-term, diversified and with a focus on cash flow & wealth accumulation.

🔹Core portfolio (ETF & Bitcoin)

900 € flow in monthly:

- 💵 €500 in SPDR S&P 500 ($SPY5) (+0.64%)

- 🌍 €200 in Vaneck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders ($TDIV) (+0.07%)

- ₿ 200 € in Bitcoin ($BTC) (+0.13%)

🔹 Individual share savings plans (€25/ €600 each)

Target per company: €10,000 investment amount.

Currently participating:

$DB1 (+1.44%) , $UNP (-1.28%), $RACE (+1.37%) , $MRK (+0.33%) , $MUV2 (+0.31%) , $DGE (-0.71%) , $DE (+0.55%) , $TXN (-1.56%) , $AWR (-0.53%) , $ADP (-0.26%) , $PLD (+0.12%) , $HEN (-0.38%) , $ITW (-4.27%) , $UNH (+1.21%) , $LLY (+0.54%) , $BEI (-1.67%) , $MCD (-0.54%) , $DTE (-1.36%) , $WMT (-0.64%) , $COST (-1.02%) , $WM (-0.38%) , $JPM (+1.87%) , $BLK (+0.33%) , $SY1 (+0.42%)

🔹 Cash reserve

💰 Set aside at least €1,000 every month to be able to strike flexibly when opportunities arise.

🏘️ Real estate strategy

We live in our own home and own a rental apartment that pays for itself. ✅

Further real estate purchases are planned. 🏡📈

🎯 Target (15-20 years)

Financial freedom - with the option of part-time or complete independence from employment. Focus on more time for family, projects and quality of life. ✨

How do you structure your portfolios? What is your strategy and what are your long-term goals?

I look forward to the exchange!

I closed two historical positions:

• $BTI (+0%) with a gain of +66%
• $MMM (-1.74%) with a gain of +50%

With the freed capital I opened new positions on Target ($TGT (-0.47%) ) and Merck ($MRK (+0.33%) ), to continue diversifying and target sectors that I see as solid in the medium to long term.

📈 Always with the idea of growing the portfolio in a balanced and sustainable way.

A sector that has lost so much ground in recent years, I think it's time to put something in the portfolio, I was undecided between $MRK (+0.33%) e $PFE (+0.19%) but seeing the data the former has had a steady growth in earnings, revenues and R&D investment, as well as a lower payout ratio than Pfizer and a higher dividend increase over time, more than sustainable by the way, another interesting factor is the exchange rate, a purchase gone through at the exchange rate of 1.1737, much better than the previous purchase of $MAIN (-0.58%) which took place for 1.1699 eur/usd.

I would have loved to have added$O (-0.39%) to ride the wave of the rate cut but the broker Directa only reserves it for "professional" clients, a scam....

As things stand right now I would say that for the next month I am going to add an ETF between $ISPA (+0.2%) e $VHYL (+0.03%) , I intend to have both in the future but following a contrarian strategy, that is, buying the one that has lost the most in the past month (or gained the least).

I am still relatively new to the subject and find $MRK (+0.33%) really interesting.

What do you think of the share?