15 stocks that have grown dividends the most — and nearly all have beaten the S&P 500

15 stocks that have grown dividends the most — and nearly all have beaten the S&P 500 15 stocks that have grown dividends the most — and nearly all have beaten the S&P 500 There is a correlation between increasing dividends and strong investment performance, even if a stock has a low dividend yield when you buy These are two of the stocks passing a screen for highest dividend increases over the past five years — both have outperformed the S&P 500 by wide margins. /iStockphoto You might not be impressed by a stock with a 2% dividend yield as long-term interest rates have been rising quickly in the bond market. But a screen of the S&P 500 shows that companies that have raised their payouts the most have tended to be strong overall performers for long-term investors. were yielding 4.97%, up from 4.47% at the end of June and from 4.17% at the end of last year. Investors have been selling off bonds (which drives up market yields) in anticipation of a decision by the Federal Reserve to raise its target range for the federal-funds rate.

Copyright ©2026 MarketWatch, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 What happens if you never buy a house? What renters are gaining — and giving up The smartest money moves to make with interest rates expected to go higher Why a Federal Reserve rate hike could be a ‘rare win’ for your retirement money What history says about longer-term bond yields after an initial Fed hike Philip van Doorn writes the Deep Dive investing column for MarketWatch.

Intraday Data provided by FACTSET and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by FACTSET. All quotes are in local exchange time.

Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.