The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is one of the oldest and most widely recognized stock market indices in the world. Created in 1896 by Charles Dow and Edward Jones, the index was initially composed of just 12 industrial companies that represented the backbone of the U.S. economy at the time. Today, it includes 30 large, publicly traded blue-chip companies across a range of industries, from technology and finance to health care and consumer goods. Unlike market-cap-weighted indexes such as the S&P 500, the DJIA is price-weighted, meaning that companies with higher stock prices have a greater impact on the index’s movements than those with lower prices, regardless of their overall market size. As the old-timer of the indices hits new all-time highs, four of the best dividend stocks remain relatively inexpensive.
The DJIA is widely used as a barometer of U.S. stock market performance and investor sentiment. Movements in the index are closely followed by analysts, policymakers, and everyday investors as an indicator of the broader economy’s health. While it does not capture the entire market—since it only includes 30 companies out of thousands—it often reflects trends that influence corporate earnings, economic growth, and global markets. The index hit an intraday all-time high on Friday, August 15, and closed at an all-time high last Friday.
We screened the 30 stocks looking for companies that offer among the highest dividends and are trading at the lowest price-to-earnings levels. Four look like outstanding ideas now for growth and income investors, and all are Buy-rated at the top Wall Street firms we cover at 24/7 Wall St.
Why do we cover the Dow Jones industrials?
The 30 companies in the index represent some of America’s largest, most established corporations with proven track records of profitability and market leadership across diverse sectors. Many Dow stocks also provide steady and big passive dividend income, making them appealing for growth and income investors. Additionally, these blue-chip companies often have strong balance sheets, substantial cash reserves, and the resources to adapt to changing market conditions.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM | JPM Price Prediction) is the fifth-largest bank in the world by assets and is very reasonable at 14.9 times trailing earnings. This blue-chip giant beat both earnings-per-share and revenue expectations for Q2 2025. The strong beat was attributed to substantial equities trading revenue (up 15%) and fixed-income trading revenue (up 14%), alongside robust investment banking activity. JPMorgan is one of the leading global financial services firms and one of the largest banking institutions in the U.S., with about $3.9 trillion in assets. The company was formed by merging the Chase Manhattan retail banks and the J.P. Morgan investment banks.
The company operates through four segments:
- Consumer & Community Banking (CCB)
- Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB)
- Commercial Banking (CB)
- Asset & Wealth Management (AWM)
The CCB segment offers:
- Deposit, investment, and lending products
- Cash management, payments, and services
- Mortgage origination and servicing activities
- Residential mortgages and home equity loans
- Credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services are offered to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking
The CIB segment provides:
- Investment banking products and services, including corporate strategy and structure advisory, and equity and debt market capital-raising services
- Loan origination and syndication, payments, cash and derivative instruments, risk management solutions, prime brokerage, and research
This segment also offers securities services, including custody, fund accounting and administration, and securities lending products for asset managers, insurance companies, and public and private investment funds.
The CB segment provides financial solutions, including lending, payments, investment banking, and asset management to small and midsized companies, local governments, nonprofit clients, and large corporations, as well as investors, developers, and owners of multifamily, office, retail, industrial, and affordable housing properties.
The AWM segment offers multi-asset investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market funds to institutional clients and retail investors; and retirement products and services, brokerage, custody, estate planning, lending, deposits, and investment management products to high-net-worth clients.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $340 target price.
Merck
Merck develops and produces medicines, vaccines, biological therapies, and animal health products. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is not just a healthcare company but a global force in the industry. This healthcare giant is a no-brainer down almost 15% this year while paying a solid dividend and trading at just 13 times trailing earnings. The company operates through two segments.
The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in:
- Oncology
- Hospital acute care
- Immunology
- Neuroscience
- Virology
- Cardiovascular
- Diabetes
- Vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines
The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, health management solutions and services, and digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products.
Merck serves:
- Drug wholesalers
- Retailers
- Hospitals
- Government agencies
- Managed healthcare providers, such as health maintenance organizations
- Pharmacy benefit managers and other institutions
- Physicians
- Physician distributors
- Veterinarians
- Animal producers
Merck’s growth is a result of its efforts and strategic collaborations. The company works with AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN), Bayer, Eisai, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, and Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) to jointly develop and commercialize long-acting treatments for HIV, demonstrating a commitment to innovation and growth.
Guggenheim has a Buy rating with a $115 target price.
Travelers
Trading at just 11.8 times trailing earnings, which is among the lowest of all the DJIA stocks, this insurance giant is a safe and solid stock to own now. The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) is a provider of property and casualty insurance for auto, home, and business.
The company’s segments include:
- Business Insurance
- Bond & Specialty Insurance
- Personal Insurance
The Business Insurance segment offers a broad array of property and casualty insurance products and services.
The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment offers:
- Surety
- Fidelity
- Management liability
- Professional liability
- Property and casualty coverages and related risk management services, primarily in the United States, and certain surety and specialty insurance products in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, as well as Brazil
The Personal Insurance segment offers a broad range of property and casualty insurance products and services covering individuals’ personal risks, primarily in the United States, as well as in Canada.
The company, through its subsidiary Corvus Insurance Holdings, is a cyber insurance managing general underwriter.
Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods has an Outperform rating with a Wall Street-high $316 target price.
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications company that continues to offer tremendous value. It trades 9.51 times its estimated 2026 earnings and is up almost 14% in 2025. Verizon provides a range of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and government entities worldwide.
It operates in two segments:
- Verizon Consumer Group
- Verizon Business Group
The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the United States through Verizon and TracFone networks, as well as through wholesale and other arrangements.
It also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks and related equipment and devices, such as:
- Smartphones
- Tablets
- Smartwatches and other wireless-enabled connected devices
The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and copper-based network.
The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including:
- FWA broadband
- Data
- Video and conferencing
- Corporate networking
- Security and managed network
- Local and long-distance voice
Network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally.
Tigress Financial has a Buy rating and a price target of $56.
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