With Markets Trading Near All-Time Highs, These 4 Dividend Stocks Look Safe

After a blistering sell-off following the Brexit decision, the S&P 500 has rallied back to within a few points of all-time closing highs. Combine that with interest rates at historical lows, and investors have been put in a very difficult position: buy here and look for a break-out, sell and hope that earnings take things down to a cheaper entry level, or hold and hope for the rest of the year.

We screened the Merrill Lynch research database looking for blue chip dividend stocks that still make sense in a very pricey market. We also looked to avoid the overbought bond proxy sectors like the utilities and consumer staples. We found four that still look reasonable, and offer investors a degree of safety in what could be a volatile rest of 2016. All are rated Buy at Merrill Lynch: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) and Southwest Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: LUV).

Source: Wall St. 24/7

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