In this article, we discuss 5 best stocks to consider for living off of dividends in retirement. If you want to see more dividend stocks in this selection, click Living Off Dividends in Retirement: 10 Best Stocks To Consider.
5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Dividend Yield as of May 13: 0.63%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 134
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not only a dividend payer but the stock also offers strong growth prospects for the future in terms of share price gains. Investors tend to flock towards solid businesses like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for retirement, since their performance remains consistent even amid turbulent market backdrops. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported its Q1 2022 results on April 28, which came in above consensus. The company announced earnings per share of $1.52 and a revenue of $97.28 billion, above market forecasts by $0.09 and $3.29 billion, respectively.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declared on April 28 a $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, a 4.5% increase from its prior dividend of $0.22. The dividend was distributed on May 12. The board of directors also authorized an increase of $90 billion to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s current share repurchase program.
On May 3, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty maintained an Overweight rating and a $195 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares. The analyst said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s estimated App Store net revenue growth accelerated to 8% year-over-year in April from the 6% growth in March. The analyst’s June quarter growth forecast of 15% year-over-year for App Store remains unchanged.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 134 hedge funds held long positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 120 funds in Q3 2021. At the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2022, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported a prominent stake in the company, with almost 64 million shares worth over $11 billion.
Here is what Berkshire Hathaway has to say about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – our runner-up Giant as measured by its year end market value – is a different sort of holding. Here, our ownership is a mere 5.55%, up from 5.39% a year earlier. That increase sounds like small potatoes. But consider that each 0.1% of Apple’s 2021 earnings amounted to $100 million. We spent no Berkshire funds to gain our accretion. Apple’s repurchases did the job. It’s important to understand that only dividends from Apple are counted in the GAAP earnings Berkshire reports – and last year, Apple paid us $785 million of those. Yet our “share” of Apple’s earnings amounted to a staggering $5.6 billion. Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple shares, an act we applaud. Tim Cook, Apple’s brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim’s managerial touch as well.”
