Dividend stocks are a great way to generate income from your investments while still maintaining the potential for growth from increases in the underlying share price. However, dividends aren’t guaranteed and may be cut or eliminated altogether if a company’s financial outlook worsens.

Here are stocks with the highest dividend yields in the S&P 500.

Highest dividend stocks in the S&P 500

*Market data as of October 6, 2023

1. Altria Group (MO)

Altria Group owns a portfolio of tobacco products including Philip Morris USA. The company says it is focused on returning cash to shareholders while also moving adult smokers away from cigarettes over time.

  • Dividend yield: 9.5 percent
  • Annual dividend: $3.92

2. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)

Walgreens Boots Alliance operates retail pharmacies across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Its U.S. pharmacy business administered about 35 million COVID-19 vaccinations in its 2022 fiscal year. The company has a dividend history that dates back to 1989.

  • Dividend yield: 8.5 percent
  • Annual dividend: $1.92

3. Verizon (VZ)

Verizon is a leader in communication and technology services. Along with AT&T and T-Mobile, they provide the majority of mobile-phone services in the U.S. Verizon generated more than $135 billion in revenue in 2022.

  • Dividend yield: 8.3 percent
  • Annual dividend: $2.66

4. Keycorp (KEY)

KeyCorp was created in 1958 and provides a range of banking services such as retail and commercial banking, student loan refinancing, investment management and consumer finance. The Cleveland-based bank operated 972 branches across 15 states at the end of 2022.

  • Dividend yield: 8.1 percent
  • Annual dividend: $0.82

5. AT&T (T)

AT&T is another telecommunications leader that generates solid cash flow for shareholders. Recently, the company has divested some assets and cut its dividend by nearly half as it focuses on 5G investments and paying down its heavy debt load.

  • Dividend yield: 7.5 percent
  • Annual dividend: $1.11

6. Truist Financial Corp. (TFC)

Truist is a financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina that was formed as a result of the bank merger between BB&T and SunTrust in 2019. Truist had more than 2,100 branches at the end of 2022 located primarily in the Southeastern U.S.

  • Dividend yield: 7.7 percent
  • Annual dividend: $2.08

7. Simon Property Group (SPG)

Simon Property Group is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a variety of retail outlets in the U.S. such as malls and premium outlets. At the end of 2022, Simon owned or held an interest in 196 income-producing properties.

  • Dividend yield: 7.3 percent
  • Annual dividend: $7.60

8. V.F. Corp. (VFC)

V.F. Corporation owns popular apparel and footwear brands such as The North Face, Timberland and Vans. The company has struggled recently as revenue has declined for some brands and inventories have spiked, leading to more discounts on their products. The company has paid a regular dividend for more than a decade.

  • Dividend yield: 7.3 percent
  • Annual dividend: $1.20

9. Comerica (CMA)

Comerica is a Dallas-based financial services company that owns two banking subsidiaries and 28 non-banking subsidiaries. Comerica primarily operates in Texas, California and Michigan and held about $71.4 billion in deposits at year-end 2022.

  • Dividend yield: 6.8 percent
  • Annual dividend: $2.84

10. Kinder Morgan (KMI)

Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America and its pipelines and terminals transport and store various commodities including crude oil and natural gas. The company owns an interest in or operates roughly 83,000 miles of pipelines.

  • Dividend yield: 7.0 percent
  • Annual dividend: $1.13

What is a dividend yield and what does it mean?

A dividend yield is a way to measure how much income a stock generates relative to its stock price. Calculating a dividend yield gives investors a way to compare yields across different companies, industries or even asset classes.

A dividend yield is calculated by dividing a company’s annual per share dividend by its current share price. For example, a company that paid an annual dividend of $1.00 per share would have a 5 percent dividend yield when its share price was $20.00.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.