Be Wary Of These Widely-Held Dividend Stocks

With Europe seemingly on the brink of a major shakeup, income investors had better make sure that their steady, income-generating equities are as safe as when they bought them. Income investors rely on their stocks providing them with steady streams of cash payments, in the form of dividends. For companies with major exposure to Europe, worsening economic fundamentals could mean severe decreases in cash flow. Since dividends are paid out of the cash a company generates, dividends of these exposed companies could be jeapordized, while decreases in earnings could lead to slides in shareprices.

If you own any of these stocks, use this list as a jumping off point to delve further into your holdings' European exposure, and decide if scaling back is a prudent decision.

1. General Electric (GE)
2. Phillip Morris International (PM)
3. Dow Chemical (DOW)
4. Nike (NKE)
5. ExxonMobil (XOM)

Source: Seeking Alpha

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