2 Dividend Kings to Buy and Hold Forever

Plenty of stocks pay dividends, but far fewer have raised their dividends every year. And only a tiny percentage have raised their dividends every year for more than 50 years. These stocks are known as Dividend Kings.

Once stocks get into the Dividend Kings club, they rarely leave. While 57 companies currently hold Dividend King status, in the last 10 years, only three companies have lost that status by cutting their dividends: materials company 3M, industrial parts maker Leggett & Platt, and clothing company VF Corp. The 57 that remain have some of the safest dividends out there.

Here are two of the best Dividend Kings to buy now and hold forever.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Automatic Data Processing

Payroll processor Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ: ADP) is massive, serving 1 in 6 U.S. workers. The company also provides other HR services, such as benefits administration and recruitment/onboarding. It's a relatively new addition to the Dividend Kings list, with "only" 51 consecutive years of dividend increases.

Like many companies, ADP's stock has had a rough year, and it's currently trading more than 25% off its 2025 highs. With the current job market looking shaky, investors have likely been concerned about how well the payroll processor's revenue would hold up if unemployment soared.

Luckily for long-term investors, this drop presents an attractive buying opportunity. ADP continued to increase its dividend through previous periods of high unemployment, including the 1982 recession's 10.8% unemployment, the Great Recession's 10% unemployment, and the COVID-19 pandemic's 14.8% unemployment rate. The current 4.2% unemployment rate looks tame by comparison, and the company's current 2.7% yield is on the higher end of the Dividend Kings' spectrum.

ADP has shown it can raise its dividend in good times and bad and looks like a great choice to buy and hold for the long term.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Kenvue/Kimberly-Clark

I know what you're thinking: this is clearly cheating! Not only did I pick two companies for one slot, but one of those companies didn't even exist until 2023!

Hear me out, though: Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) inherited its Dividend King status from its former parent company (and fellow Dividend King) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which spun off its consumer healthcare brand portfolio -- which generated $15 billion in annual sales from brands including Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed, Band-Aid, and Listerine -- as Kenvue in 2023.

The new company immediately established a dividend payout that was substantially similar to the parent company's. Since the spinoff, it has continued to increase its dividend each year and currently yields 4.3%, more than twice that of its former parent.

But now, it looks like Kenvue might simply move from one Dividend King parent to another, because paper products giant Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ: KMB) -- maker of Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers, and Scott paper towels -- is seeking regulatory approval to merge with Kenvue. That merger is expected to be finalized later this year. Kimberly-Clark is also a Dividend King and its yield is currently 4.5%, so Kenvue's Dividend King status isn't in jeopardy.

If the merger goes through, Kenvue shareholders are expected to receive a combination of $3.50 in cash and roughly one-seventh of a Kimberly-Clark share for every Kenvue share they own. Dividend investors could buy Kimberly-Clark now, expecting a post-merger product portfolio that would look very similar to Procter & Gamble's. Or you could hedge your bets and pick up shares of Kenvue to own its strong brands in case the merger falls through for some reason.

Either way, Kenvue and Kimberly-Clark -- whether combined or not -- look set to continue reigning as Dividend Kings for years to come.

John Bromels has positions in Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends 3M. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.