3 Dividend Kings That Earn Their Crown Every Quarter

Morningstar screened US stocks in its Dividend Composite Index covered by its analysts for undervalued names that raised dividends by at least 2% in May, excluding those with yields below 1.07%. Four companies qualified: PepsiCo, Lowe’s, Northrop Grumman, and Devon. Morningstar also assigned “Exemplary” capital allocation ratings to PepsiCo, Lowe’s, Northrop, and Devon, citing dividend growth and balance-sheet strength.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) has recently lagged the healthcare sector, while rival Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has fallen 26.2% over 52 weeks and 28.1% year-to-date, according to the article. Despite BDX’s underperformance, 14 analysts rate it “Moderate Buy,” with a mean $175.75 price target, implying a 20.7% premium.

PepsiCo restructured its credit facilities on May 22, 2026 to support short- and long-term liquidity, replacing a $5 billion 364-day revolver with a new $5 billion facility expiring May 21, 2027 and extending a $5 billion five-year agreement through May 22, 2031 with a €1.2 billion swingline subfacility. Citibank manages both, with capacity expansion up to $5.75 billion. Separately, PepsiCo declared a $1.48 quarterly dividend per share, payable June 30, 2026, up about 4% year over year.

PepsiCo shares trade at $144.19, about 1% below the 52-week high of $169.96, after a 7.15% monthly decline. 24/7 Wall St. sets a 12-month target of $172.85 (19.87% upside) and a BUY rating with 90% confidence. In Q1 FY26 (Apr. 15, 2026), core EPS was $1.61 vs $1.5442 consensus and revenue $19.44B; international growth drove margin expansion to 16.5%.

Hinde Group released its Q1 2026 investor letter, reporting gross return of 3.80% and net return of 3.41% versus -4.33% for the S&P 500, citing market volatility tied to Iran-related conflict. The firm highlighted Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX), noting a July 2025 position and that BD completed a Reverse Morris Trust with Waters on Feb. 9, receiving $4B cash and Waters shares.

The article highlights three “blue chip” stocks it says look attractively priced after a market pullback: Microsoft (MSFT), Becton Dickinson (BDX), and Clorox (CLX). It cites MSFT’s forward P/E of 22 and ~0.83% dividend yield; BDX’s forward P/E of 11.7 and ~2.36% yield; and CLX’s forward P/E of 13 and ~5.16% yield, noting oil costs of over $20M quarterly gross profit.