3 Top Dividend Stocks Yielding 4.3% or More to Buy Right Now for Passive Income

High dividend yields can cut both ways, especially if your investing goal is to generate as much income as possible. Monster yields can mean mountains of passive income, but they are also riskier, and you often wind up losing money if the company has to cut the dividend. But there are high-yield dividend stocks out there with strong financials, some with yields as high as 4%, 5%, even 6% or more.

Here are three dividend stocks, each yielding at least 4.3%. These dividends come backed by healthy fundamentals with years of proven performance. You can confidently buy these stocks right now and enjoy the passive income that comes with them.

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1. Verizon Communications

Cellphones and internet connectivity are staples in almost every household in America. People pay their phone bill like they pay their electric and gas utilities, which has made Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) a very dependable dividend stock. The leading U.S. wireless carrier has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years, giving investors consistent growth alongside its juicy 6.4% yield.

The dividend is quite sustainable at only 57% of Verizon's 2026 earnings estimates and 58% of trailing-12-month cash flow. That means Verizon has plenty of financial breathing room to continue raising the dividend while still meeting the capital expenditure needs of its extensive infrastructure. The stock is hard to pass up when trading at less than 9 times its forward earnings, given that analysts expect high-single-digit earnings growth ahead.

2. Altria Group

Tobacco companies continue to stay relevant despite smoking rates peaking in the United States decades ago. Altria Group (NYSE: MO) dominates America's cigarette market with Marlboro, though it also sells various cigars, oral tobacco, and smoke-free products. Tobacco is notoriously addictive, making Altria an extremely resilient business over the years. It continues to squeeze out growth by raising its prices each year.

Altria is already a Dividend King, a company with over 50 consecutive annual dividend increases. The dividend payout ratio is manageable at 74% of 2026 earnings estimates and is backed by Altria's balance sheet and a multibillion-dollar stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev. Altria will probably continue growing earnings at a low-single-digit pace, but you don't need much when the stock trades at under 13 times forward earnings and yields 5.9%.

3. PepsiCo

It's hard to find much safer stocks than diversified food and beverage giant PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP). The company dominates your local grocery store with brands spanning soda and other beverages, chips, snacks, and breakfast foods. People always need to eat and drink, so PepsiCo continues to make money through recessions, pandemics, you name it. That's made the stock a Dividend King with over five decades of dividend growth.

PepsiCo currently spends most of its cash flow on dividends, which is admittedly not ideal. That said, PepsiCo has $10.7 billion in cash and an A+ rating on its balance sheet, so there's probably still minimal risk of a dividend cut. Analysts see PepsiCo growing earnings at a mid-single-digit rate moving forward, so the payout ratio can decline over time. Shares look like a bargain at under 16 times 2026 earnings estimates and offer a strong 4.3% starting yield.

Justin Pope has positions in PepsiCo. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.