2 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Hold Forever

Some investors absolutely thrive in a high-risk environment. I'm not one of them, and if you clicked on this headline, I'm willing to bet you aren't either. If I'm putting my money into a stock, I like to be reasonably certain it's going to pay off.

All investments carry risk, mind you. But dividend-paying stocks carry less than most. They're fantastic set-it-and-forget-it investments you don't need to keep too close of an eye on.

You don't even need to settle for low returns either. With high-yield dividend stocks like Vici Properties (NYSE: VICI) and T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW), you can have a solid return with relatively limited risk. These are stocks you can buy, set up a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), and let the cash compound for years and years.

Why those two? Read on and I'll tell you.

Image source: Getty Images.

Too weird to live, too rare to die

Las Vegas looms large in American culture. It's the city of Elvis and Sinatra; the weekend party locale par excellence; a shining monument to lady luck rising out of the barren Mojave Desert around it.

It's also the home of Vici Properties, a premier gambling and entertainment real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns some of the most legendary casinos, specifically Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand.

In total, the company holds 61 gambling locations, 39 non-gambling properties, and four golf courses across 26 states and one Canadian province that it rents out to casino operators.

Vici's two largest tenants are Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, but it has 15 tenants in total and a 100% occupancy rate across its properties.

As a REIT, Vici needs to pay out 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders as a dividend. And right now, its dividend yields 6.2%. It has also raised the dividend every year since the company went public in 2018.

Per Vici's first-quarter results, the company will have no problem maintaining and raising its dividend payments for the foreseeable future.

For Q1, Vici's revenue grew 3.5% over Q1 2025 to $1 billion, and its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) rose 5.7% year over year.

The company maintains a stellar net profit margin of 78% and a very healthy balance sheet, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

This is one bet you'll want to let ride for a long time to come if you place it.

Bears and bulls and rams, oh my

T. Rowe Price has been providing financial services from its base in Baltimore and beyond since 1937. And, coming up on its 90th birthday, the company has raised its dividend for 40 years in a row.

Presently, that dividend yields 5%, and with a payout ratio of 55%, I have no doubt T. Rowe Price will achieve Dividend King status, meaning a company that has raised its dividends for 50 years in a row, 10 years from now.

The company's business is pretty straightforward. It offers investment services and products to its customers, and as of the end of the first quarter, it had $1.7 trillion in assets under management.

For the quarter, T. Rowe Price's revenue increased 5.3% over Q1 2025 to $1.85 billion. Net operating income for Q1 2026 hit $680.5 million, up 14% from Q1 2025.

Its net profit margin is 29.5%, and it has an incredibly healthy balance sheet with a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.04.

T. Rowe Price is proof positive some of the best investments are a simple idea executed perfectly. It's a straightforward growing business with high margins, low debt, and a high-yield dividend that's grown yearly for almost half a century.

That sounds like a winner to me, and, like Vici, it's a stock you'll want to hang on to in the long haul if you add it to your portfolio. The company's logo might be a ram, but it might as well be a bull for how strong it is as a dividend play.

James Hires has positions in Vici Properties. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends T. Rowe Price Group. The Motley Fool recommends Vici Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.