Investors love dividend stocks because they provide dependable passive income streams and an excellent opportunity for solid total return. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. At 24/7 Wall St., we have focused on dividend stocks for over 15 years because, despite the stock market’s ups and downs, many people need reliable passive income streams to supplement their income from employment or other sources such as Social Security and pensions.
While we have written many times over the years that a comfortable retirement likely will require much more than Social Security income, and while many Baby Boomers have enjoyed a long bull market over the past 35 years, there is a point when income becomes more critical than stock appreciation. The reason is simple: those who leave their careers to enjoy a well-deserved retirement lose the benefits of a regular salary and their jobs, such as 401(k) matching and company-paid healthcare. In addition, many Baby Boomers use their retirement years to travel and enjoy the rewards they have worked hard to achieve throughout their lives. Choosing investments wisely is imperative, and at 24/7 Wall St., we continually seek the best ideas for Baby Boomers and retirees.
Claude is a powerful AI assistant from Anthropic, a company focused on AI safety and research. While it works as an intelligent chatbot, its capabilities reach far beyond basic conversation. Built on advanced large language models (LLMs), Claude can write, code, analyze complex information, and handle a wide range of tasks with impressive skill and reliability.
Given the depth of intelligence and research capability, we asked Claude to find the safest stocks that yield over 5%. Seven companies were chosen, and five are among our top ideas for retirees. All are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms, and all are outstanding ideas for those seeking dependable passive income from safe companies.
Altria
Altria (NYSE: MO | MO Price Prediction) is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of cigarettes and other tobacco-related products. It offers value investors a compelling entry point and is the undisputed yield leader among consumer staples Dividend Kings. The annual dividend is $4.24 per share, yielding 5.98%. The company has raised its dividend for 57 consecutive years while maintaining a healthy adjusted payout ratio of around 75%. The stock offers an attractive yield, but it carries meaningful tobacco-industry risks. Still, the payout has demonstrated strong resilience through numerous economic cycles.
Altria manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States. It primarily sells cigarettes under the Marlboro brand, as well as:
- Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild and Middleton brands
- Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
- on! Oral nicotine pouches
- e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand
It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.
Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. Last year, the company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. That represents 18% of its holdings but still leaves Altria with approximately 8% of the outstanding shares. Altria also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.
Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating on Altria, with a $77 price target.
Enterprise Products Partners
This top American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) is one of the most extensive publicly traded energy partnerships and pays a reliable 5.88% dividend. The company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio ranges from 3.1x to 3.4x, which is moderate for a midstream energy company, and its interest coverage ratio is 5x.
Enterprise Products Partners generates strong free cash flow, with an operating cash flow of approximately $8.8 billion, resulting in approximately $4.2 billion in free cash flow annually after deducting capital expenditures. Another significant benefit for shareholders is that most of the corporate debt is fixed-rate, thereby limiting the risk of rising interest rates.
Enterprise Products Partners provides various midstream energy services, including:
- Gathering, processing, transporting, and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and fractionation
- Import and export terminalling
- Offshore production platform services
The company has four reportable business segments:
- Natural Gas Pipelines and Services
- NGL Pipelines and Services
- Petrochemical Services
- Crude Oil Pipelines and Services
One reason many analysts like the stock might be its distribution coverage ratio. The company’s coverage ratio is well above 1x, making it relatively less risky among the master limited partnerships.
Citigroup has a Buy rating with a $44 target price.
Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) is an American multinational personal care company that primarily produces paper-based consumer products. It manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide. The company remains a persistent laggard among consumer staples Dividend Kings. The stock now offers an attractive dividend yield of 4.85%, a direct result of the significant price compression it has endured. Tariff-related cost increases and softening consumer demand have pressured Kimberly-Clark.
It operates through three segments. The Personal Care segment offers a diverse range of products, including:
- Disposable diapers
- Swim pants, training and youth pants, baby wipes
- Feminine and incontinence care products, as well as related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Depends, Plenitud, Softex, Poise, and other brand names
The Consumer Tissue segment provides facial and bathroom tissues, paper towels, napkins, and related products under the brand names.
- Kleenex
- Scott
- Cottonelle
- Viva
- Andrex
- Scottex
- Neve
The K-C Professional segment offers wipers, tissues, towels, apparel, soaps, and sanitizers under the Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech, and KleenGuard brands.
In 2025, Kimberly-Clark announced it would acquire Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) in a $48.7 billion deal, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026. The acquisition will create a combined consumer health and wellness company, with Kenvue shareholders receiving cash and stock. Kenvue shareholders will get $3.50 in cash plus 0.14625 shares of Kimberly-Clark.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $120 target price.
Realty Income
Realty Income (NYSE: O) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that has paid monthly dividends consistently for years. It owns over 15,000 properties leased primarily to defensive retailers. This is an ideal stock for growth and income investors seeking a safer contrarian idea for the rest of 2026, with a 5.20% dividend yield. The S&P 500 company acquires and manages freestanding commercial properties that generate rental income under long-term net-lease agreements with its commercial clients.
It is engaged in a single business activity: leasing property to clients, generally on a net basis. This business activity spans various geographic boundaries and encompasses a range of property types and clients across multiple industries. Widely considered the gold standard of monthly dividend stocks, Realty Income has paid monthly dividends since 1969. It has paid 667 consecutive monthly dividends as of early 2026 and increased its dividend 132 times since its 1994 IPO.
The company owns or holds interests in approximately 15,621 properties in all 50 U.S. states and:
- United Kingdom
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Portugal
- Spain
With clients operating in 89 industries, its property types include retail, industrial, gaming, and other categories such as agriculture and office.
Its primary industry concentrations include:
- Grocery stores
- Convenience stores
- Dollar stores
- Drug stores
- Home improvement stores
- Restaurants
- Quick service
Royal Bank of Canada has an Outperform rating with a $71 target price.
Verizon
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is an American multinational telecommunications company that continues to offer tremendous value. It trades at 9.37 times its estimated 2026 earnings and pays a 5.92% dividend. Verizon provides a range of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and government entities worldwide.
Verizon’s trailing 12-month interest coverage ratio is 4.6× to 5×, providing ample cushion for dividend payments. With a very predictable revenue stream from telecom services, the company has less exposure to commodity cycles. In addition, the large scale helps in financing and absorbing shocks.
It operates in two segments. The Consumer Group 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 Group 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.
Raymond James has an Outperform rating and a $56 price target.
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