Dividend investing is ultimately about replacing your working income with a passive income stream for a secure retirement and financial freedom.
The reality of inflation means your income stream can’t just be static. It must be perpetually growing.
To build your perpetual dividend machine, investors should focus on quality dividend growth stocks with strong yields, recession-proof payouts, and the ability to grow their dividends each year.
With all this in mind, the following 3 perpetual income stocks have high yields and growing dividends.
Sonoco Products (SON)
Sonoco Products provides packaging, industrial products and supply chain services to its customers. The markets that use the company’s products include those in the appliances, electronics, beverage, construction and food industries.
The company generates over $5 billion in annual sales. Sonoco Products is now composed of 2 major segments, Consumer Packaging, and Industrial Packaging, with all other businesses listed as “All Other”.
On April 16th, 2025, Sonoco Products raised its quarterly dividend 1.9% to $0.53, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 49 consecutive years.
On July 23rd, 2025, Sonoco Products announced second quarter results for the period ending June 29th, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 17.9% to $1.91 billion, which was in-line with estimates. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.37 compared to $1.28 in the prior year, but was $0.08 less than expected.
Revenues and earnings benefited from the addition of Eviosys. For the quarter, Consumer Packaging revenues surged 110% to $1.23 billion, mostly due to contributions from Eviosys.
Volume growth was strong and favorable currency exchange rates also aided results. Industrial Paper Packing sales fell 2% to $588 million due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates and lower volume following two plant divestitures in China last year.
Target Corporation (TGT)
Target was founded in 1902 and now operates about 1,850 big box stores, which offer general merchandise and food, as well as serving as distribution points for the company’s e-commerce business.
Target released second quarter earnings on August 20th, 2025, and results were better than expected. However, guidance and the CEO change underwhelmed investors, and the stock fell once again.
Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $2.05, which was a penny ahead of estimates. Revenue was off fractionally year-on-year to $25.21 billion, but did beat estimates by $310 million. Sales were lower on merchandise sales declines of 1.2%, partially offset by a 14.2% increase in non-merchandise sales.
Comparable sales were down 1.9%, as the physical stores fell 3.2% while digital sales grew 4.3%. Management said traffic and sales trends improved “meaningfully” from the first quarter.
The company is investing heavily in its business in order to navigate through the changing landscape in the retail sector. The payout is now 62% of earnings for this year, which is elevated from historical levels, but the dividend remains well-covered.
Franklin Resources (BEN)
Franklin Resources, founded in 1947 and headquartered in San Mateo, CA, is a global asset manager with a long and successful history. The company offers investment management (which makes up the bulk of fees the company collects) and related services to its customers, including sales, distribution, and shareholder servicing.
As of June 30th, 2025, assets under management (AUM) totaled $1.612 trillion for the $12 billion market cap company.
On July 31st, 2020, Franklin Resources acquired Legg Mason (previous ticker LM) for $4.5 billion in cash, to go along with the assumption of $2 billion in debt.
On August 1st, 2025, Franklin Resources reported third-quarter 2025 results for the period ending June 30, 2025. Total assets under management equaled $1.612 trillion, up $71 billion sequentially, as a result of $78 billion of net market change, distributions, and other, and $2.7 billion of cash management net inflows, partly offset by $9.3 billion of long-term net outflows.
For the quarter, operating revenue totaled $2.064 billion, down 3% year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, net income equaled $263 million or $0.49 per share, down 18% from $0.60 in Q3 2024. During Q3, Franklin repurchased 7.3 million shares of stock for $157 million. Franklin ended the quarter with $5.9 billion in cash and investments.
BEN has increased its dividend for 45 consecutive years.
Disclosure: No positions in any stocks mentioned
_______________
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.
© 2025 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.