Five Free Dividend Stocks

The last decade has been touted as the lost decade for stock investors. The main reason why stock prices have gone nowhere since 2000, is mostly because stocks were overvalued. The shareholders of the following dividend champions however. who purchased them at the end of 1999, were able to get more in dividends than the amount they paid for the stock. In essence, they received their original investment back in the form of dividends, while still retaining ownership of the shares and the future dividend income stream that comes along with it. In order to come up with this list, I looked for dividend champions, which paid out more in dividends between 2000 and 2010, than the price of their stock on December 31, 1999. Altria Group, Inc. (MO), through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smokeless products, and wine in the United States and internationally. This dividend champion has raised distributions for 42 years in a row. The stock closed at $23 at the end of 1999. Altria shareholders received 0.69 shares of Kraft Foods (KFT) for each share of Altria they owned in 2007. In addition, Altria shareholders received a share of Phillip Morris International (PM) in 2008 for each share of Altria shareholders held. Between 2000 and 2010, the 1999 investment in this tobacco stock would have generated a total of $35.18 in dividends from Altria (MO), Phillip Morris International (PM) and Kraft (KFT). Check my analysis of Altria. Yield: 5.70% HCP, Inc.12... Read more