The following three stocks may be of interest to dividend investors, as they are offering much higher dividend yields than the S&P 500 Index. The benchmark index's dividend yields 1.38% as of Friday, April 30.
Wall Street sell-side analysts have also issued positive ratings for these stocks, which indicates their shares are predicted to trade higher over the coming months.
Novartis AG
The first company to consider is Novartis AG (NVS, Financial), a Basel, Switzerland-based drug giant.
Based on Friday's closing price of $85.24 per share, Novartis offers a trailing 12-month and forward dividend yield of 3.75%. The company last paid an annual dividend of $3.199 per common share on March 15.
Novartis has paid dividends for over 20 years.
On Wall Street, as of April, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight with an average target price of $104.39 per share.
The share price has grown 1.48% over the past year, which determined a market capitalization of $192.57 billion and a 52-week range of $77.04 to $98.52.
The stock is neither oversold nor overbought, as indicated by a 14-day relative strength index of 38.
Chevron Corp
The second company that meets the criteria is Chevron Corp (CVX, Financial), a San Ramon, California-based integrated oil and gas company.
Based on Friday's closing price of $103.07 per share, Chevron offers a trailing 12-month and forward dividend yield of 5.01%. The last quarterly payment, $1.29 per common share, was made on March 10, while the next quarterly payment, $1.34 per common share, will be issued on June 10.
The company has paid dividends for more than three decades.
On Wall Street, as of April, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $121.45 per share.
The share price has climbed by 12.72% over the past year for a market capitalization of $198.73 billion and a 52-week range of $65.16 to $112.70.
The stock is neither oversold nor overbought, as indicated by a 14-day relative strength index of 49.
AbbVie Inc
The third company is AbbVie Inc (ABBV, Financial), a North Chicago, Illinois-based drug major focusing on treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, as well as the development of therapies for specific forms of cancer.
Based on Friday's closing price of $111.50 per share, AbbVie Inc offers a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 4.45% and a forward dividend yield of 4.66%. The company is currently distributing a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per common share. The last payment was made to shareholders on Feb. 16, while the next one is scheduled for May 14.
AbbVie has paid dividends for about eight years.
On Wall Street, as of April, the stock has a median recommendation rating of overweight and an average target price of $122.75 per share.
The share price has risen by 36.21% over the past year, which has determined a market capitalization of $196.78 billion and a 52-week range of $79.11 to $113.41.
The stock is neither oversold nor overbought, as indicated by a 14-day relative strength index of 61.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
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