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Stocks That Pay Dividends in December (13 Quality Stocks in 2024)

Don't Work Another Day is reader-supported. We may receive compensation from the products and services mentioned in this story, but the opinions are the author's own.
  By Forrest McCall | Last Updated:  October 2, 2022

Dividend stocks can be a great way to build long-term wealth and grow your monthly income. And there's no better chance to cash in before the holidays than investing in stocks that pay dividends in December.

If you're looking to build wealth with compound interest and grow your dividend income – you won't want to miss out on these stocks.

In this post, I'll explore the best stocks that pay dividends in December so you can start building your dividend portfolio. Let's get started!

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Stocks That Pay Dividends in December

Want a quick looks at stocks that pay dividends in December? Here you go!

  • Amcor
  • 3M
  • Aflac
  • Sherwin-Williams
  • S&P Global
  • Chevron Corp
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • McDonald's Corp
  • IBM
  • Exxon Mobil
  • PPG Industries
  • Dover Corp
  • Stanley Black & Decker

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Amcor (AMCR)

Amcor

Amcor is an Australian-American company with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1926, Australian Paper Manufacturers specialized in the production of paper pulp products. Along the way, it branched out into manufacturing metal cans. To reflect its new, broader approach, the company changed its name to Amcor Limited in 1986.

But like many large conglomerates, Amcor had overextended itself. With no single core focus, it was difficult for executives to craft a coherent strategy. In April 2000, Amcor announced that it would be divesting many of its assets and focusing on packaging. It spun off its printing paper business as a new company called Paperlinx. And in 2002, it sold its 45% stake in Kimberly-Clark Australia.

Today, Amcor manufactures packaging for food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, personal care items, and even medical devices. The company has two branches: Flexibles and Rigid Packaging, which focus on their respective areas.

The company currently has over 46,000 employees, with $12.8 billion in annual sales. They operate in more than 40 countries and are listed on both the Australian Securities Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Amcor is also on several major stock indices. Among others, it’s listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the MSCI Global Sustainability Index, the Ethibel Excellence Investment Register, and the CDP Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (Australia).

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $14.54 billion
  • Revenue per share: 9.64
  • Dividend rate: 0.48

Source: Yahoo Finance

Check out these investments that pay monthly to grow your money even faster!

3M (MMM)

3M Stock

3M began as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Five men founded the company in 1902, intending to mine corundum. But when they dug their mine, they only found worthless anorthosite rock. 3M almost went bankrupt, but they issued stock to stay afloat, and a pair of wealthy investors took the company over in 1905.

3M relocated to Duluth and refashioned itself as a sandpaper manufacturer. By 1916, the company's finances had stabilized, and it began issuing dividends.

Today, 3M manufactures more than 60,000 products. These include sandpaper, adhesives, patching products, and paint protection. Through their other brands, the company produces everything from medical devices to tape. For example, they own Scott, a personal protective equipment manufacturer, as well as Bondo fiberglass patch.

3M is organized into four branches: Consumer, Safety and Industrial, Transportation and Electronics, and Health Care. In 2021, the company brought in $35.4 billion in sales and ranked 102nd on the Fortune 500 list. It currently employs over 95,000 people, with branches in 70 countries.

This is a top quality dividend stock that offers a dividend yield over 5% currently.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $35.09 billion
  • Revenue per share: $61.08
  • Dividend rate: 5.96

Source: Yahoo Finance

Alflac

Aflac Stock

Aflac has been around since 1955. Three brothers founded the company in Columbus, Georgia, and called it the American Family Life Insurance Company of Columbus. They changed the name in 1964, to American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In 1990, they shortened the name to “Aflac” for marketing and branding purposes. But even today, the underwriting subsidiary's official name remains the same.

Aflac has been at the vanguard of many insurance policy innovations. In 1958, it became the first US company to offer cancer insurance. And in 1964, it broke into the workplace market. Today, this market makes up over 98% of Aflac’s business.

Aflac offers short- and long-term disability insurance to employees via payroll deduction. If a policyholder is injured or becomes ill, they can file a claim and recoup some of their lost income. In 2009, the company purchased the Continental American Insurance Company. The purchase enabled them to offer supplemental health insurance policies along with disability.

Aflac also offers insurance policies to individuals, but that’s a small part of their business.

The company currently has more than 50 million customers in both the US and Japan. Aflac employs more than 76,000 US sales associates and over 19,000 Japanese associates. Total revenue for 2021 was $22.1 billion.

What I like most about this stock is that I put it in the category of dividend growth stocks because it offers a nice dividend yield but also has growth potential. 

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $21.34 billion
  • Revenue per share: $32.61
  • Dividend rate: 1.6

Source: Yahoo Finance

Sherwin-Williams (SHW)

SW Stock

Sherwin-Williams originated in 1873 when a Cleveland businessman named Henry Sherwin partnered with Edward Williams to build a paint factory. They purchased an old barrel factory from Standard Oil and used it to manufacture their first paints. 

The company developed a new, ready-mixed paint to market to consumers. Before this, customers had to buy various ingredients and mix their paint on-site. An early partner, A.T. Osborn, sold his share in 1882, too late for his name to be in the company's name when it was incorporated in 1884.

From the beginning, Sherwin-Williams pursued an aggressive strategy of growth and acquisitions. By 1920, it was the largest paint manufacturer in the United States. After 50 years of market dominance, the company’s sales shrank during the 1970s.

Gulf and Western Industries attempted a hostile takeover, but Sherwin-Williams was able to survive by selling off their non-core businesses. During the following decades, it continued its aggressive strategy of buying out smaller competitors. Most recently, it purchased Swiss coatings manufacturer Sika AG, which produces textured deck and traffic coatings.

This is a great dividend stock that you can add to your portfolio and eventually make $500 a month in dividends

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $20.78 billion
  • Revenue per share: $80.04
  • Dividend rate: 2.4

Source: Yahoo Finance

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S&P Global (SPGI)

S&P Global Stock

Most people think of S&P Global as a financial firm. But it began as a publisher you've probably heard of – McGraw-Hill. In 1966, McGraw-Hill purchased Standard & Poors, a credit rating agency. They began publishing credit ratings in a periodical that industry professionals could subscribe to.

Over the next 20 years, the company continued to grow its footprint in the financial press. In 1979, it bought Byte magazine. In 1986, it purchased its largest competitor, The Economy Company. Following the purchase, McGraw-Hill was the number one educational publisher in the US.

By 2013, McGraw-Hill’s financial data division was the most lucrative part of its business. As a result, the company changed its name to McGraw Hill Financial. In 2016, shareholders voted on a second change and renamed the company S&P Global Inc.

 

S&P Global specializes in providing up-to-date market data to financial professionals. It has four divisions: S&P Global Ratings, S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Global Platts, and S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company is perhaps best known for the S&P 500 Index, one of the most popular indexes for individual investors.

Did You Know?
  • Past 12 months revenue: $9.56 billion
  • Revenue per share: $34.9
  • Dividend rate: 3.4

Source: Yahoo Finance

Chevron Corporation (CVX)

Chevron Stock

Chevron Corporation has its roots in the 1870s oil boom. Following the breakup of Standard Oil, one of the resulting companies was called the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal). It grew rapidly, purchasing several small, regional competitors and turning into a national company. Through the early to mid-20th century, Socal was one of America’s biggest petroleum manufacturers.

The 1970s oil crisis shook the petroleum industry to its core and forced many smaller companies to sell out or go out of business. Socal was not immune to market forces, and in 1985, it merged with Gulf Oil to form a new company: Chevron. Chevron would merge with Texaco in 2001, growing its business even larger.

Chevron operates a vertically-integrated business. Their upstream operations include oil and natural gas exploration and extraction. Downstream activities include refining, manufacturing, and sales. The company sells lubricants, fuel, and a wide selection of petroleum-derived products.

Chevron is a US-based company, with its headquarters in San Ramon, California. However, it operates in over 180 countries, covering most of the planet. Some of its largest markets are the US, Australia, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. As of 2018, it extracted an average of 791,000 barrels per day of net oil equivalent per day in the US alone. Note that net oil equivalent is a measurement that includes natural gas.

As of 2022, Chevron is the second-largest American oil company by revenue after Exxon Mobil. It sits at 16th on the Fortune 500 list, with a 2021 revenue of $162 billion.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $206.1 billion
  • Revenue per share: $106.83
  • Dividend rate: 5.68

Source: Yahoo Finance

Whether you want to make $100 a month in dividends or earn $1000 a month in dividends, Chevron is a strong addition to your portfolio. If you want to diversify out of traditional energy, check out these geothermal stocks.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 by three people: Robert Wood Johnson, and his brothers James and Edward. Robert was an expert in medicated plasters and had already run his own company. But new sterile surgical procedures rendered his plasters obsolete. Instead, the company would focus on the latest and greatest technology: sterile surgical dressings.

Johnson & Johnson’s first products were gauze rolls and pads, shipped in sterile packaging. But they soon began manufacturing a variety of supplies, including surgical implements. The company already had sterilization facilities, so sterilizing multiple products was easy.

Today, Johnson & Johnson is famous not just for its own products, but for those of its subsidiaries. You probably have some Tylenol, Neutrogena, and Band-Aid products in your bathroom. Johnson & Johnson also owns Acuvue contact lenses and Clean & Clear facial wash. And their pharmaceutical division, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is among the most dominant in the business.

The company headquarters is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, but it maintains facilities in over 60 countries. Including its 250 subsidiaries, Johnson & Johnson sells products in more than 175 countries.

In November 2021, Johnson & Johnson announced that it will be splitting into two new companies. One will take over consumer products, while the other will focus on pharmaceuticals.

Johnson & Johnson raked in $93.3 billion in sales in 2021 and ranks 36th on the Fortune 500 list. It’s also a perfect stock if you’re worried about a company’s credit rating. Its AAA prime credit rating is on par with only one other US company (Microsoft), and better than the federal government’s.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $95.59 billion
  • Revenue per share: $36.33
  • Dividend rate: 4.52

Source: Yahoo Finance

McDonald's Corporation (MCD)

McDonald’s started as a family business, founded in 1948 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. They offered a product that seems mundane today but was revolutionary at the time – hot, fresh fast food. Drive-up restaurants were popular in the 1940s, but you still had to wait for your food.

But if it weren’t for outside investment, McDonald’s may have remained a lone California restaurant. Enter investor Ray Kroc, who purchased a franchise from the brothers in 1955. Using the McDonald brothers’ system, he was able to open several successful franchises.

Eventually, he was able to force the McDonald brothers out of the business. He purchased their shares in 1961 for $2.7 million – equivalent to a little under $27 million in 2022 dollars. In retrospect, it was a sound investment.

Today, McDonald's has multiple streams of revenue. The company directly owns over 2,700 locations and franchises an additional 35,000. In addition to paying royalties and franchise fees, many franchisees also lease their property from McDonald's.

McDonald's is active in more than 100 countries and has the most revenue of any restaurant chain in the world. It's also the world's second-largest private employer, second only to Walmart. And the golden arches are currently the US' 2nd most-recognized logo.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $23.59 billion
  • Revenue per share: $31.75
  • Dividend rate: 5.52

Source: Yahoo Finance

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)

IBM Stock

International Business Machines Corporation, better known as IBM, began as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, founded in 1911. It got its current name in 1924. Originally, IBM manufactured what we would now call industrial equipment. Customers could buy or lease industrial scales, time punch machines, meat slicers, and cash registers.

World War II brought government investment to IBM. Among other wartime projects, IBM developed punch card machines for cryptography and a powerful calculator for the Manhattan Project. Since then, IBM has been a pioneer in the world of computers.

In the 1950s, IBM debuted the first modern artificial intelligence – a computer that could learn to play checkers and defeat a human player. IBM engineers also invented the FORTRAN operating system. The company obtained further government investment during the Space Race, and IBM computers helped to land the Apollo landers.

The company has developed many technologies that we take for granted. The hard drive, the ATM, the magnetic stripe reader, the UPC, and SQL programming are all IBM inventions.

IBM is not a dominant player in the PC market like it used to be, although its Lenovo laptops remain popular. Most of the company's revenue comes from servers and other commercial hardware, along with related software. IBM also earns much of its income by licensing its patents to other companies. As of 2021, IBM had registered more patents than any other US company for 29 consecutive years.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $59.68 billion
  • Revenue per share: $66.38
  • Dividend rate: 6.6

Source: Yahoo Finance

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

Exxon Mobil Stock

Exxon Mobil Corporation, like Chevron, originated in the breakup of Standard Oil Company. A smaller subsidiary, Standard Oil Company of New York, would later merge with Vacuum Oil and change its name to Mobil. Incidentally, Exxon started as the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. The two companies would merge in 1999 to create Exxon Mobil.

Despite the merger, Exxon remains the official parent company of Exxon Mobil. However, the company still uses both brands for gas stations, motor oil, and other products.

Like Chevron, Exxon Mobil is vertically-integrated. They prospect their own oil and natural gas, extract it, refine it, and sell the end products.

Largest Oil Companies

Exxon Mobil is the largest oil company in the world by revenue and employs more than 63,000 people. Since the merger, it has also ranked anywhere from 1st to 10th among all global companies in total revenue. The 2022 Fortune 500 rankings list Exxon Mobile as 6th in the US. The Fortune Global 500 ranks Exxon Mobile at number 12.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $354.96 billion
  • Revenue per share: $83.28
  • Dividend rate: 3.52

Source: Yahoo Finance

PPG Industries (PPG)

PPG Stock

PPG Industries was founded in 1883, just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the time, the name of the company was the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. They took advantage of America's building boom and manufactured large, thick plate glass for windows. This glass was in high demand, and high sales made the company very lucrative. PPG also saved money by using local natural gas in its furnaces, which was cleaner than coal. It was the first plate glass company in the world to do so.

With all this money, the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company went on a buying spree. Among other companies, they purchased the Ditzler Color Company in 1928. Ditzler was an automotive paint company, and it marked PPG’s entry into the world of coatings. The company would finally change its name to PPG Industries in 1968 to reflect its new focus.

In 2016, PPG sold its glass division to Mexican-based glass manufacturer Vitro, to focus solely on coatings. In 2017, they divested themselves of their fiberglass business. PPG also continues buying other companies. In 2015, they purchased REVOCOAT, a major global sealant manufacturer.

Today, PPG is strictly a coating company. On the consumer side, Glidden paint and Gripper primer are their most popular products. But consumer paint sales are just the tip of the iceberg. PPG manufactures automotive finishes, deck sealants, and industrial coatings. They also produce a line of adhesives.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $17.56 billion
  • Revenue per share: $74.08
  • Dividend rate: 2.48

Source: Yahoo Finance

Dover Corporation (DOV)

Dover Stock

Dover Corporation is a conglomerate, originally formed from four companies. During the 1930s and 40s, a New York City investor named George Ohrstrom Sr. purchased the C. Lee Cook Company, Rotary Lift, C. Norris, and Peerless. These companies manufactured several products, from automotive lifts to space heaters. In 1947, Ohrstrom combined them into the Dover Corporation. The company made its IPO in 1955.

In the coming decades, Dover Corporation would continue acquiring new companies – 14 of them between 1955 and 1979. Much of this growth came from Dover Elevator, a new independent division that was profitable beyond all expectations. In 1999, Dover would sell its elevator business for $1.1 billion.

Dover is famous for its decentralized corporate culture. Top executives encourage each division president to work independently towards their own goals. Their philosophy is to buy successful companies and let them continue operating under Dover’s umbrella.

You can see this philosophy in action in the Dover Corporation’s corporate structure. They currently operate across five business segments: Engineered Products, Sustainability Technologies, Clean Energy and Fueling, Pumps & Process solutions, and Imaging & Identification. These technologies may have little in common, but that’s not a bad thing. It means that Dover is diversified across many sectors.

Dover Corporation is headquartered in New York and ranked at number 433 on the 2022 Fortune 500. The stock is also part of the S&P 500 Index.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $8.22 billion
  • Revenue per share: $57.08
  • Dividend rate: 2.02

Source: Yahoo Finance

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)

SWK Stock

Stanley Black & Decker began its life in 1857 as the Stanley Rule and Level Company. It would later merge with Stanley’s Bolt Manufactory in 1920 to form the Stanley Works. The Stanley Works would go on to win several military contracts in World War II, and win the Army-Navy “E” Award in 1943.

The company remained an emblematic American brand for the rest of the century. In 2002, Stanley would briefly consider moving to Bermuda, but directors changed their minds after a massive public backlash. Instead, they went on a buying spree.

Throughout the 2000s, Stanley acquired numerous smaller companies, culminating in a 2009 merger with Black & Decker. The merger also gave them ownership of DeWalt tools, one of the world’s biggest power tool brands. The merger became official in 2010, forming Stanley Black & Decker.

Stanley’s core business has not changed since before the merger. They sell power tools, industrial supplies, and small home appliances. They also own some of the world’s most valuable brands. In addition to Stanley, Dewalt, and Black & Decker, the company also owns Craftsman, Irwin, and Lenox.

Did You Know?
  • Last 12 months' revenue: $16.94 billion
  • Revenue per share: $109.34
  • Dividend rate: 3.2

Source: Yahoo Finance

Final Thoughts on Stocks That Pay Dividends in December

Finding stocks that pay dividends in December is easier than you think.

There are plenty of options out there, but these are some of my favorite dividend stocks that you can invest in to grow your dividend income.

Forrest is a personal finance, entrepreneurship, and investing expert dedicated to helping others obtain life long wealth. He has a Bachelor's degree in business and has been featured in many popular publications including Forbes, Business Insider, Bankrate, CNET Money, and many others. To learn more about Forrest, visit the About Us Page for more info.
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