Donald Trump Owns These 21 Dividend Kings. Should You?

Former president and current GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is well-known for his real estate investments. His name is splashed across golf courses, hotels, and office buildings.

However, Trump also invests in stocks. They're not limited to the one bearing his name -- Trump Media & Technology Group. The former president also owns stakes in 21 Dividend Kings. Should you own them, too?

Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead.

One former president, 21 kings

Trump recently submitted a regulatory disclosure that revealed all of his investments. The list featured roughly 40% of the 53 Dividend Kings -- stocks with 50 or more years of consecutive dividend increases.

Data source: Donald Trump regulatory filings.

Many investors also own shares of these companies. Their impressive dividend track records serve as a big draw. But are they good picks?

Mostly underperformers

Perhaps the biggest knock against Dividend Kings as a group is that they often underperform the market. This is valid criticism for most of the ones in Trump's portfolio. Of the former president's 21 Dividend Kings, only four have delivered higher total returns than the S&P 500 over the last five years.

AbbVie's total return topped 260% during the period. This is especially impressive since the drugmaker faced the loss of U.S. patent exclusivity for its top-selling drug, Humira, in 2023. Many investors appreciated, though, that AbbVie had prepared for this patent expiration for years by investing in developing new drugs and making strategic acquisitions to bolster its product lineup and pipeline.

Parker-Hannifin was the best-performing Dividend King in Trump's portfolio. It delivered a total return of roughly 260% over the last five years. Part of the company's performance is due to solid demand for its motion and control technologies and systems. The $8 billion acquisition of large British aerospace and defense company Meggitt also helped.

Two household names on Trump's list also beat the S&P 500. Lowe's benefited from the strength in the home improvement market and generated a total return of around 143% over the last five years.

Walmart lagged a little behind the S&P 500 during much of the period but has come on strong recently thanks to better-than-expected Q2 results. The giant discount retailer's total return over the last five years is roughly 119%.

A lot for income investors to like

Despite the large number of underperformers, income investors can find a lot to like about the 21 Dividend Kings in Trump's portfolio. In addition to the impressive track records of dividend hikes, many offer attractive dividend yields.

Tobacco giant Altria Group stands head and shoulders above the rest with a forward dividend yield of 7.83%. Federal Realty Investment Trust ranks second with a forward dividend yield of 3.8%. Kenvue, the consumer health spin-off of Johnson & Johnson, is close behind with a forward dividend yield of 3.76%.

Three others have forward dividend yields of more than 3%. AbbVie's yield is 3.15%. ADM offers a yield of 3.33%. Consolidated Edison's yield is 3.29%.

Best pick

Should you own all 21 Dividend Kings that Trump does? For most investors, the answer is probably "no." However, as we've seen, some of them have shown they can beat the market. Several offer juicy yields that should appeal to income investors.

If I had to name the best pick of the group, I'd go with AbbVie. The big pharma stock has performed well. Its dividend is strong. AbbVie also should have good growth prospects going forward with its newer products.

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Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie, Lowe's Companies, PepsiCo, and Target. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Abbott Laboratories, Emerson Electric, Kenvue, Target, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Illinois Tool Works, Johnson & Johnson, and Lowe's Companies and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $13 calls on Kenvue. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.