6 Dividend Stocks To Add As Cornerstones

Having completed a dividend stock analysis across 5 industries, I've put together 6 stocks that would make great cornerstones to any dividend income portfolio. These stocks were chosen based on beta, dividend track record, dividend yield and payout ratio. The most important metric when choosing these 6 cornerstone stocks is to see how stable dividend payments are and how often dividends are increased. Too often dividend yield is given too much attention when investors choose a stock. Cornerstone stocks should be given a higher weight in a portfolio and should be the bedrocks of a portfolio that the investor doesn't have to worry about.

All 6 of these stocks are large, well-established companies that perform well regardless of market conditions and have a long track record of steadily increasing dividends: Procter & Gamble (PG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Microsoft (MSFT), Consolidated Edison (ED), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Altria (MO). Every dividend income investor should have cornerstones in their portfolio that they can rely on for steady dividend payments while having downside protection. Any one of these stocks would make an excellent addition as a core holding.

Source: Seeking Alpha

Related Articles:
- 7 Tech Stocks With A History of Growing Their Dividends
- Here's Where To Find Great Dividend Stocks
- 8 Higher-Yielding Consumer Stocks With A History of Rising Dividends
- 10 Dividend Stocks For The Ultimate In Deferred Gratification
- 6 Healthcare Stocks With Growing Dividends Yielding In Excess of 2%