Dividend Champions List: Top 15 Stocks to Buy

2. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Dividend Yield as of October 2: 6.54%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is best known for owning Marlboro, along with a portfolio that includes oral tobacco products, cigars, and e-vapor devices. Beyond tobacco, the company also holds a sizable stake in Anheuser-Busch.

Cigarette use in the US, which is Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s core market, has been sliding for years. Even so, the company has managed to keep profits strong. It has leaned on price hikes, cut costs, and squeezed more efficiency out of its cigarette operations. Those moves have allowed the company to grow consolidated free cash flow by nearly 60% over the past decade, reaching $8.7 billion in the last twelve months.

Looking ahead, Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is putting money into products outside of cigarettes. Its cigar segment remains stable, while newer areas like vaping and nicotine pouches are gaining traction. The on! pouch brand has been a bright spot, posting 26.5% volume growth last quarter. To broaden its reach, Altria recently teamed up with KT&G in South Korea, a deal that opens the door to new pouch products and potential investments in the energy space. It is still early to see how much this will move the needle, but it makes clear the direction the company wants to go.

When it comes to Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s successes, the company’s dividend history also takes the lead. In the past 56 years, the company managed to raise its payouts 60 times, which makes it one of the best stocks for a dividend champions list. Its quarterly dividend now comes in at $1.06 per share for a dividend yield of 6.54%, as of October 2.