Dividend Stocks That Are as Safe as Treasuries

Standard & Poor’s currently gives United States Treasuries a credit rating of AA+, just below the maximum AAA credit rating (the other two major ratings agencies, Fitch and Moody’s, still give the U.S. their highest rating). Current Treasury yields are quite low, possibly reflecting a market view that U.S. debt has little risk. Meanwhile, some stocks with higher credit ratings pay considerably higher dividend yields and interest rates on their debt.

Here are five stocks that pay dividend yields of 2.5% or higher whose debt is rated at least AA+ by Standard & Poor’s: General Electric (NYSE: GE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ: ADP).

Source: Motley Fool

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