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Target raised its dividend 20% on Thursday to maintain income investors’ interest. Target did this because it wanted to continue its consistent track record in increasing payouts. There are many elite stocks that can easily and consistently increase their dividends, and beat the market long-term. CNBC Pro screened for the S & P 500 using the following criteria: Annualized dividend growth of 7% or more (as good as, or better than, Target) Five-year total annualized return better than the S & P 500’s 11% Dividend yield of at least 2% Dividend payout ratio of less than 50% (Amount of earnings paid out as dividends) So to summarize, these stocks increase their payouts a lot over time, they beat the market over the long haul and they can easily pay their dividends. Below is a list of the top performers: Warren Buffett’s favorite HP Inc. was also included in the selection. These financials include JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and many others. Both Lockheed Martin and Union Pacific Railroad were two industrial companies that had steady cash flows. Target has been criticized for its recent profit warning, which caused the stock to drop more than 30%. However, it is still the top retailer in terms of long term return. The Target stock has returned more than twice the market over the past five years by compounding annually at 26%, which is nearly double that of the other top performers in the group.
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