3 Dividend Growth Beasts That Have Raised Their Payouts for a Combined 165 Years

Want some solid dividend growth stocks with incredible track records of increasing their payouts? Here's a list of stocks that have been raising their dividend payments consistently for more than 50 consecutive years. Combined, they add up to 165 years' worth of increases.

Three of the best dividend stocks you can buy and hold today are Target (NYSE: TGT), Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). Here's why these stocks can be excellent options to add to your portfolio today and just hang on to for the long haul.

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Target: 53 years of increases

In June 2024, Target announced a 1.8% increase to its dividend, marking the 53rd straight year it has boosted its payout. While that increase may seem modest, Target has been much more generous when business was booming and is not shy in rewarding its shareholders. In 2021, when sales were surging due to pandemic-fueled demand, the company raised its dividend by a whopping 32%. If you go back five years, the dividend has risen by 70%.

Target's business isn't taking off right now because people are battling inflation and scaling back on discretionary purchases. There's no denying that, and it's a key reason why rival Walmart has been doing better, because it is more heavily skewed toward essentials than discretionary items.

But this is why now may be the optimal time to invest in Target -- when it may not be performing at its peak. As economic conditions pick up, as they always do, discretionary spending will also recover. When that happens, Target's business will start looking a whole lot better.

With an attractive 2.9% yield, a low payout ratio of 45%, and the stock trading at just 14 times its trailing earnings, Target is one of the better dividend stocks you can buy right now.

Hormel Foods: 59 years of increases

The most impressive streak on this list belongs to Hormel Foods. In November 2024, the branded food company announced a 3% increase to its dividend, extending its streak of increases to 59 consecutive years. The company owns many popular food brands, including Spam, Planters, Skippy, and dozens more. With the increase in the payout, the stock now yields 3.7% -- well above the S&P 500 average of 1.3%.

Over a period of five years, Hormel has increased its dividend by 25%, which averages out to an annual increase of around 5%. It's a modest but stable bump up that can help investors offset the effects of inflation. The stock's payout ratio of 78% suggests that there is still room for more dividend increases in the future.

The company is a good, stable option for long-term investors. In the trailing 12 months, Hormel has generated $805 million in profit on revenue totaling $11.9 billion, for a solid net profit margin of just under 7%. Hormel makes for a good, low-volatility stock to add to your portfolio and forget about for a while.

Abbott Laboratories: 53 years of increases

Rounding out this list of impressive Dividend Kings is healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories. Just last month, the company raised its dividend by more than 7%. Like Target, this latest increase represented the 53rd consecutive year it has boosted its dividend. At $0.59, the new quarterly dividend is 64% higher than the $0.36 that it was paying shareholders in 2020.

Abbott's yield of just over 2% is the lightest one on this list. But it's still a great stock to own. In addition to the dividend growth, the company offers a lot of long-term stability due to its size and diversification. It's one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $200 billion, and it has multiple business units, including pharmaceuticals, nutrition, diagnostics, and medical devices. With a payout ratio of 66%, the company can continue making sizable increases to its dividend in the future.

The business has been doing well. Over the first nine months of 2024, Abbott achieved positive organic growth (excluding COVID-19 tests) in all of its business units, with medical devices looking particularly strong and growing at more than 13% year over year. If you want to diversify your portfolio and invest in a top healthcare stock with a strong dividend, Abbott's a great option to consider.

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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Abbott Laboratories, Target, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.