The market may be in free fall of late but some dividend stocks can still offer investors safety. One of the biggest and safest dividend stocks to invest in is Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG). The company’s vast portfolio of consumer brands puts it in a great position to benefit from consistent demand, regardless of macroeconomic factors.
On April 8, the company’s board of directors announced yet another increase to its dividend. The new quarterly payment of $1.0568 is a generous 5% bump up from its most recent quarterly payout of $1.0065. Not only has the company paid a dividend for 135 years, but with this increase, it has also raised its dividend for 69 consecutive years, making it among the best dividend growth stocks to buy and hold forever.
The increase in the dividend means investors will collect $4.23 per share in dividends over the course of a full year. That puts its yield at around 2.5%. If you want to collect $1,000 in dividend income from the stock, you would need to invest approximately $40,000 into Procter & Gamble right now.
Historically, this has been a low-volatility investment to hang on to; its beta is just 0.42, indicating that it doesn’t not follow the market’s swings. And while the S&P 500 has been tanking this year, shares of Procter & Gamble have been flat. For investors who are worried about risk and who want a safe place to park their money, Procter & Gamble can be an excellent stock to put in your portfolio and not worry about.