Should You Buy the 5 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500?

If you invest in an S&P 500 index fund, you'll receive a dividend yield in the ballpark of 1.7%. Many of the stocks in the major index pay dividends. Some of them have dividend yields a lot higher than what you can get from an S&P 500 index fund. The five highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 offer yields of 6.95% or greater. But should you buy these stocks?

These are the S&P 500's five highest-yielding dividend stocks: Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) 13.2%, Altria Group (NYSE: MO) 8.02%, Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) 8.01%, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) 6.99% and Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) 6.95%. If you're primarily focused on growth, you might be better off looking elsewhere. The same is true if you're risk-averse. All of these stocks face risks.

Source: NASDAQ

Related Articles:

- 2 Dividend Stocks With A 10% Yield In 10 Years

- Increasing Dividend Yield Part I: Utilities

- Are ETFs and CEFs Good Dividend Growth Investments?

- Holding Bonds Could Push Your Portfolio Into The High Risk Category

- 5 Companies With The Power of 5/15 Dividend Growth