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Income investors looking for stocks with safe dividends should focus on companies that have long track records of dividend increases.

One such list of long-lived dividends is the blue chips, which have raised their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years.

These companies, generally, have shareholder-friendly management teams that are willing to boost the amount of capital returned each year, while also having the ability to raise their payouts through thick and thin from an economic perspective.

These 3 blue chip stocks have reliable dividends and steady dividend growth.

Target Corporation (TGT)

Target is a general merchandise retailer that operates in the US. The company offers a huge assortment of food products, including dry groceries, dairy, frozen items, and perishables. In addition, Target has a large apparel business, including many of its own private labels. The company has a long list of electronics, toys, animal care, home décor, and much more.

Target posted third quarter earnings on November 15th, 2023, and results were much better than expected on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue came to $25.2 billion, which was down 4.2% year-over-year, but was $160 million better than expected. Comparable sales fell 4.9%, which was attributable to a physical store sales decline of 4.6%, and a comparable digital sales decline of 6.0%. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $2.10, which was a staggering 62 cents better than expected.

Target’s current yield of 2.1% compares quite favorably to the 1.6% yield of the S&P 500. Target has raised its dividend for an extremely impressive 55 consecutive years, putting it in very rare company on that measure. The payout ratio is now 53% of earnings for this year, indicating a secure payout.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW)

T. Rowe Price Group is an investment manager based in the US. The company provides investment services to individuals, institutions, retirement plans, intermediaries, and institutional investors. T. Rowe invests in public equity and fixed income markets globally, utilizing a variety of investment strategies.

On February 7th, 2023, T. Rowe Price declared a $1.22 quarterly dividend, representing a 1.7% increase and marking the company’s 37th year of increasing its payout. On October 27th, 2023, T. Rowe Price reported third quarter results. For the quarter, revenue grew 5.0% to $1.67 billion, beating estimates by $20 million. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $2.17 compared to $1.86 in the prior year, which was $0.40 higher than expected. During the quarter, assets under management (AUM) declined 3.8% to $1.347 trillion.

T. Rowe shares are yielding 4.3% today, which more than double the yield of the S&P 500. The company also has an impressive dividend increase streak of 36 years, which is all the more impressive given the inherent cyclicality of investment firms. Firms such as T. Rowe and its competitors tend to see assets under management ebb and flow based upon market conditions, which are, in turn, often based upon prevailing economic conditions.

The firm’s payout ratio is higher than it typically is, coming in at nearly 70% for this year. Still, we don’t believe the payout would be at risk during a recession given the company’s track record in prior recessions.

Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)

Qualcomm develops and sells integrated circuits for use in voice and data communications. The chip maker receives royalty payments for its patents used in devices that are on 3G and 4G networks.

On April 12th, 2023, Qualcomm increased its quarterly dividend 6.7% to $0.80, marking the company’s 21st consecutive year of dividend growth.

On November 1st , 2023, Qualcomm reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 for the period ending September 24 th , 2023. For the quarter, revenue decreased 24% to $8.67 billion, but this was $150 million more than expected. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $2.02 compared unfavorably to $3.13 in the previous year, but was $0.11 above estimates.

Automotive sales increased 15% to $535 million. Qualcomm Technology Licensing, or QTL, declined 12% to $1.26 billion. Qualcomm repurchased 25 million shares at an average price of $118.93 during the fiscal year. Qualcomm is projected to earn $9.21 per share in fiscal 2024.

The company has grown earnings-per-share at a rate of 7% per year over the last decade. An agreement with Apple and Huawei, a lower share count, and leadership in 5G should allow the company to grow in the coming years. We are reaffirm our earnings-per-share growth rate of 7% through fiscal year 2028.

With an expected dividend payout ratio near 40% for the current fiscal year, Qualcomm’s dividend is highly secure. The stock currently yields 2.1%.

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