Dividend Gold: 3 Stocks With Sustainable Payouts

While share price appreciation continues to be important, a good number of investors also prize regular and consistent dividend payments.

Dividends provide people, especially those in retirement, with a source of income. Reinvested dividends can help to grow a portfolio over the long term. And, above all else, dividends offer a predictable return to shareholders regardless of the ups and downs of the market and a particular stock.

For all of these reasons, investors tend to look for stocks that pay high-yield dividends to their shareholders. Companies that have a history of consistently raising their dividends are even more prized. In the end, people want reliable payments that they can count on in good times and bad. Here is dividend gold: three stocks with sustainable payouts.

Mastercard (MA)

Credit card giant Mastercard (NYSE:MA) just announced that it is increasing its quarterly dividend payout by 16%. The company said that effective immediately it is raising its dividend to 66 cents from 57 cents previously. The new payment gives Mastercard’s stock a dividend yield of 0.64%. The company also announced an $11 billion share repurchase program, which will begin once its current $9 billion plan is completed. There is still $3.5 billion remaining on the current stock buyback program.

The dividend hike comes as MA stock is on an upswing. In the last 12 months, the company’s share price has risen 18%, bringing its five-year gain to 108%. In late October, Mastercard reported third-quarter financial results that topped Wall Street forecasts, driven by greater spending on travel, especially to international destinations.

The company forecast revenue growth in the low double digits for the current fourth quarter of 2023. The steady earnings growth should keep the dividend sustainable.

Broadridge Financial (BR)

Likely less familiar to investors is Broadridge Financial (NYSE:BR), a financial technology company that manages and distributes communication materials to investors on behalf of nearly every publicly traded company in America, as well as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

When you receive a communication about a stock you own, either electronically or in the mail, it’s likely from Broadridge. In addition to having a near monopoly position, Broadridge also pays a strong dividend to its shareholders.

Most recently, Broadridge raised its annual dividend at the end of the summer by 10% to $3.20 a share. The company has now raised its dividend every year since it went public in 2011. And 11 of its dividend increases have been by 10% or more. On a quarterly basis, Broadridge pays a dividend of 80 cents a share for a yield of 1.65%.

BR stock has been a strong performer this year, rising 45%. Over the past five years, the company’s share price has doubled.

General Motors (GM)

Automaker General Motors (NYSE:GM) just lifted its quarterly dividend payment to stockholders by 33% to 12 cents a share starting in 2024 as it tries to win back investors following a costly strike by its unionized workers and a hefty new labor agreement. The new dividend payment takes the yield on GM stock up close to 1.50%. As with Mastercard, GM also announced a new stock buyback program. The Detroit auto giant said it will repurchase $10 billion of its own stock over the next year.

The dividend increase and new stock buybacks come after a six-week strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union that the company says cost it $800 million in lost vehicle production and has thrown its finances into disarray. The new collective agreement signed with the union is an expensive one and is expected to cost the company $9.3 billion through 2028. General Motors’ executives are trying to soften the blow for shareholders with the raised dividend payment. GM stock is up 13% since the new dividend was announced.

On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.