5 ‘Bulletproof’ Dividend Kings Boomers Should Buy Now Before the Market Shifts

With interest rates rising, many boomers are starting to look at U.S. Treasuries as an income option. The downside of owning guaranteed government debt is that if rates rise after you buy bonds or notes, prices could fall. That’s fine if you plan to hold sovereign U.S. debt to maturity. But after inflation, your yield is somewhat compromised, and you have virtually zero potential for growth in a bond investment unless interest rates plunge and the bonds trade higher. That scenario is unlikely to play out anytime soon. Buying dividend-paying stocks with growth potential can improve your odds of solid total return.

The Dividend Kings are the 58 companies that have raised their dividends for at least 50 years, a testament to their dependability and consistency. Those are two “must-have” items for Boomer investors who rely on passive income to supplement their overall income from sources like Social Security or pension payments. Unlike the Dividend Aristocrats, Dividend Kings don’t have to be S&P 500 members. We screened the list for the safest stocks investors may need to get more familiar with and identified five top companies that pay substantial dividends and offer a solid source of passive income and growth potential to fight inflation. Top Wall Street firms we cover at 24/7 Wall St. rate all five stocks a Buy.

Why Do We Cover the Dividend Kings?

Investors seeking defensive companies that pay substantial dividends are drawn to the Dividend Kings, and with good reason. The 58 companies that made the cut for the 2026 Dividend Kings list have increased their dividends (not just maintained the same level) for 50 consecutive years. Companies that have raised dividends for shareholders for 50 years or more are the kinds of investments passive income investors need to own. Dependability is crucial for investors seeking to grow their annual income through dividend stocks.

Altria

Altria (NYSE: MO | MO Price Prediction) is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of cigarettes and other tobacco-related products. This tobacco stock offers value investors a solid entry point and a 6.18% dividend. Altria manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores. With massive cash flow and the world’s largest cigarette brand, this company is a compelling choice for Boomers.

The company 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

Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. In March of 2024, the company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. That represents 18% of its holdings but still leaves 8% of the outstanding shares in its back pocket. Altria also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.

Altria increased its quarterly dividend in 2026 by 4.7%, from $1.06 to $1.11 per share, marking its 61st consecutive dividend increase over the last 57 years.

UBS has a Buy rating with a $79 target price.

Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota. It offers dual pricing power through branded products and private-label manufacturing, along with a reliable 5.71% dividend yield. Shares are down almost 16% in 2026, but Hormel’s stable payout structure and consumer staple resilience make it the overall safety winner.

Hormel develops, processes, and distributes a range of meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments:

• Retail
• Food Service
• International

Hormel is a Dividend Aristocrat with over 50 years of dividend increases and is a consumer staples company focused on protein-based packaged foods. Its yield is historically high, and the Hormel Foundation’s oversight ensures dividend reliability. The company is restructuring its portfolio and cutting costs to improve performance.

The company provides various perishable products, including fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamole, and bacon, and shelf-stable products, including canned luncheon meats, nut butter, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others. It sells its products under these brands:

• Hormel
• Always Tender
• Applegate
• Austin Blues
• Bacon 1
• Black Label
• Bread Ready
• Burke
• Café H
• Ceratti
• Chi-Chi’s
• Columbus
• Compleats
• Corn Nuts
• Cure 81
• Dan’s Prize
• Di Lusso
• Dinty Moore
• Don Miguel
• Doña Maria
• Embasa
• Fast N Easy
• Fire Braised
• Fontanini
• Happy Little Plants
• Herdez
• Hormel Gatherings
• Hormel Square Table
• Hormel Vital Cuisine
• House of Tsang
• Jennie-O
• Justin’s
• La Victoria
• Layout
• Lloyd’s
• Mary Kitchen
• Mr. Peanut
• Natural Choice
• Nut-rition
• Old Smokehouse
• Oven Ready
• Pillow Pack
• Planters
• Rosa Grande
• Sadler’s Smokehouse
• Skippy
• Spam
• Special Recipe
• Thick & Easy
• Valley Fresh
• Wholly

Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating with a $29 target price.

Kenvue

Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) spun out of Johnson & Johnson in August 2023 and is being acquired by Kimberly-Clark. It pays a reliable 4.71% dividend and is a consumer health company. The company’s differentiated brand portfolio includes Aveeno, Band-Aid, Johnson’s, Listerine, and Neutrogena, and its products connect with consumers across North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.

It operates through three segments. The Self Care segment product categories include pain care; cough, cold, and allergy; digestive health; smoking cessation; eye care; and other products, including such brands as:

• Tylenol
• Motrin
• Nicorette
• Benadryl
• Zyrtec
• Zarbee’s
• Rhinocort
• Calpol

The Skin Health and Beauty segment is focused on face and body care, as well as hair, sun, and other products. The Essential Health segment includes oral care, baby care, women’s health, wound care, and other products.

Shareholders will receive $3.50 in cash plus 0.14625 shares of Kimberly-Clark for each share of Kenvue. The mixed cash-and-stock acquisition values Kenvue at approximately $48.7 billion. Based on the initial announcement terms, the total implied value was roughly $21.01 per share, though the current value fluctuates with Kimberly-Clark’s share price. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, and shareholders would receive a premium over the current market price.

Canaccord has a Buy rating with an $18 target price.

Kimberly-Clark

This American multinational personal care company primarily produces paper-based consumer products. Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years; the current yield is a rich 5.20%. The company manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide.

Its 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 acquisition of Kenvue will create a combined consumer health and wellness company and an industry giant.

Piper Sandler has an Overweight rating with a $118 target price.

PepsiCo

This top consumer staples stock reported surprisingly solid second-quarter earnings and will keep supplying the goods for fall football tailgates and parties. PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company. With a diversified snack and beverage empire, strong interest coverage, and healthy cash flow conversion, this is a top pick for Boomers, offering a 4.47% dividend yield. The company raised its annualized dividend by 4% in 2026, increasing the payout from $5.69 to $5.92 per share. That was the company’s 54th consecutive annual dividend increase.

Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:

• Lay’s and Ruffles potato chips
• Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
• Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
• Fritos corn chips

The Quaker Foods North America segment provides:

• Quaker Oatmeal
• Grits
• Rice cakes
• Natural granola and oat squares
• Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
• Quaker Chewy granola bars
• Cap’n Crunch cereal
• Life cereal
• Rice-A-Roni side dishes

PepsiCo’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:

• Pepsi
• Gatorade
• Mountain Dew
• Diet Pepsi
• Aquafina
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Tropicana Pure Premium
• Sierra Mist
• Mug

BNP Paribas has an Outperform rating with a $161 target price.

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