No Free Cake

Three Dividend Stocks with a Perfect Risk Score

You might want to consider including "price over time" in your metrics. It's great owning stocks which increase dividends, but, if its price deteriorates over time you are just treading water or worse. Sure there will be swings, but, just a glance at a long-term price chart will tell you if you own an appreciating asset or a depreciating one.

For example, look at a price chart for KO, which you own, since 2000. Or, to a lesser extent, WMT since 2000. Do they look like companies that are healthy and growing? Quote any statistics you want saying they are - in the long term if the price doesn't reflect that it doesn't matter.

If a company is steadily raising its dividends it should eventually "force" its price up. After all, if a dividend keeps growing but the price stays the same the yield will get so high that it should (will) bring in more investors. If the increasing dividend isn't bringing in new money, something is amiss.

Disclosure: I don't own KO or WMT but do own PEP.