Dividend stocks are more attractive to investors these days due to the decline in interest rates and with the recent reduction in the tax rate on most dividends. Also, investors like the dividend stocks for long-term investments as these dividend payments tend to protect the stock price from market volatility that affects non-dividend paying stocks. However, careful analysis of dividend stocks and choosing the right dividend stocks at the right time is critical for the investors.
In this article, I will focus on large cap stocks with a high dividend yield and ex-dividend date within the next week (June 11 to June 15). These stocks are screened based on the following criteria:
Security Type: Common Stock
Market Cap: Greater than $10 billion
Dividend Yield: Greater than or equal to 3%
Ex-Dividend Date: Between June 11, 2012 and June 15, 2012
1. BCE INC (BCE): BCE Inc. provides wire line, wireless, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers primarily in Canada. BCE has a market cap of $30.418B. BCE is currently trading around $39.32 with a 52 week range of $35.41 to $42.51. The dividend amount is 54.25 cents per share which is 5.3% dividend yield. The Ex-Dividend date is June 13, 2012, Record date is June 15, 2012 and the dividend payout date is July 15, 2012. The stock has -5.64% price performance for the year 2012.
2. ALTRIA GROUP INC (MO): Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smokeless products, and wine in the United States and internationally. Altria Group has a market cap of $64.457B. Altria Group is currently trading around $31.69 with a 52 week range of $23.20 to $32.62. The dividend amount is 41 cents per share which is 5.18% dividend yield. The Ex-Dividend date is June 13, 2012, Record date is June 15, 2012 and the dividend payout date is July 10, 2012. The stock has 6.88% price performance for the year 2012.
3. MERCK & CO INC (MRK): Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. Merck & Co has a market cap of $113.1B. Merck & Co is currently trading around $37.18 with a 52 week range of $29.47 to $39.50. The dividend amount is 42 cents per share which is 4.52% dividend yield. The Ex-Dividend date is June 13, 2012, Record date is June 15, 2012 and the dividend payout date is July 09, 2012. The stock has -1.38% price performance for the year 2012.
4. ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC (RCI): Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. The company's Wireless segment provides retail and business voice and data wireless communications services. Rogers Communications has a market cap of $17.730B. Rogers Communications is currently trading around $33.78 with a 52 week range of $32.27 to $40.69. The dividend amount is 39.5 cents per share which is 4.5% dividend yield. The Ex-Dividend date is Jun 13, 2012, Record date is June 15, 2012 and the dividend payout date is July 03, 2012. The stock has -12.28% price performance for the year 2012.
5. ENCANA CORP (ECA): Encana Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. Encana has a market cap of $14.115B. Encana is currently trading around $19.17 with a 52 week range of $17.02 to $33.36. The dividend amount is 20 cents per share which is 4.17% dividend yield. The Ex-Dividend date is June 13, 2012, Record date is June 15, 2012 and the dividend payout date is June 29, 2012. The stock has 3.45% price performance for the year 2012.
Sources: Some of the data is sourced from Google Finance, Yahoo Finance and Fidelity.
