Strong businesses with high dividend payouts, competitive advantages, and future growth potential can be phenomenal long-term investments.
The beauty of earning passive income is that it allows investors to generate income for doing almost nothing. Quality dividend stocks can grow their payouts each year, even during recessions.
The following 3 dividend stocks have high dividend yields, making them ideal choices for passive income investments.
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR)
Whirlpool Corporation, founded in 1955 and headquartered in Benton Harbor, MI, is a leading home appliance company with top brands Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Maytag.
Roughly half of the company’s sales are in North America, but Whirlpool does business around the world under twelve principal brand names. The company, which employs about 44,000 people, generated nearly $17 billion in sales in 2024.
On January 29th, 2025, Whirlpool reported fourth quarter 2024 results. Sales for the quarter totaled $4.14 billion, down 18.7% from fourth quarter 2023. Ongoing earnings per diluted share was $4.57 for the quarter, 19% higher than the previous year’s $3.85 per share.
Whirlpool issued its 2025 guidance, seeing ongoing earnings-per-share coming in at approximately $10.00 on revenue of $15.8 billion. Additionally, Whirlpool expects cash provided by operating activities to total roughly $1 billion, with $500 to $600 million in free cash flow.
Whirlpool has strong brands, and its competitive advantages include its global presence and a strong control over its costs, which is why the company generates higher margins than its peers.
WHR stock currently yields 7.5%.
MPLX LP (MPLX)
MPLX LP is a Master Limited Partnership that was formed by the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) in 2012. In 2019, MPLX acquired Andeavor Logistics LP.
The business operates in two segments: Logistics and Storage, which relates to crude oil and refined petroleum products; the other segment is Gathering and Processing, which relates to natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).
In early February, MPLX reported (2/4/25) financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow (DCF) per share grew 9% and 7%, respectively, primarily thanks to higher tariff rates and increased volumes of liquids and gas.
MPLX maintained a healthy consolidated debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 3.1x and a solid distribution coverage ratio of 1.5x.
Pipelines tend to have a stronghold in terms of extracting economic rents. Building pipelines requires years of approvals and ongoing regulation. As such, the incumbent positions enjoy “toll-booth” type business models, with a good portion of their revenue fixed via fee-based and “take or pay” agreements. MPLX in particular has a strong position in the Marcellus / Utica region, with long-term contracts from Marathon.
MPLX units currently yield 7.3%.
Altria Group (MO)
Altria is a tobacco stock that sells cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, e-cigarettes, and more under a variety of brands, including Marlboro, Skoal, and Copenhagen, among others.
With a current dividend yield of nearly 8%, Altria is an ideal retirement investment stock.
This is a period of transition for Altria. The decline in the U.S. smoking rate continues. In response, Altria has invested heavily in new products that appeal to changing consumer preferences, as the smoke-free category continues to grow.
Altria Group reported solid financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. For the fourth quarter, revenue of $5.1 billion beat analyst estimates by $50 million, and increased 1.6% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS of $1.29 beat by a penny.
For the full year, Altria generated adjusted diluted EPS growth of 3.4% and returned over $10.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
For 2025, Altria expects adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $5.22 to $5.37. This represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 2% to 5% for 2025.
With continued earnings growth, Altria should have no trouble continuing to raise its dividend. The company has increased its dividend payout for over 50 consecutive years, making it a Dividend King.
MO stock currently yields 7.0%.
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Bob Ciura has worked at Sure Dividend since October 2016. He oversees all content for Sure Dividend and its partner sites. Bob received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from DePaul