The Dynamic Dividend

Weekly Dow Jones Yield Rankings (1/7/2012)

Below are the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ranked by dividend yield as of Friday’s closing bell. I publish this list each weekend, along with a summary of changes that occurred during the week that just ended.

For a current look at the important dividend-related characteristics of the 30 blue chip stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (including yield), you can always access my Dow Jones Industrial Average Dividend Snapshot, which updates in real time.

The Dow rose 1.2% during the first week of 2012, pushing the average dividend yield among its components down from 2.82% at the end of the previous week to 2.78% today. Not a single blue chip adjusted its payout, and just eight saw their shares fall during the week. As a result, 22 yields grew stronger while eight weakened.

AT&T (T) closed the first week of 2012 right where it left off in 2011, with the highest yield (5.93%) among Dow components. The rest of the top ten also remains the same this week, with Verizon (VZ) continuing to hold down the #2 spot. Aside from the telecom rivals, big pharma names Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE) are the only blue chips currently yielding 4% or better.

There weren’t any major moves on the rankings this week, but a pair of companies did make small climbs as their shares fell: Chevron (CVX) leapfrogged Microsoft (MSFT) for the #11 spot, while Coca-Cola (KO) jumped over The Home Depot (HD) to take the #16 position.

Bank of America (BAC) continues to be — by far — the lowest-yielding Dow component, and the gap between the banking giant and its fellow blue chips only widened this week as its shares popped 11%, tops on the Dow. BofA’s paltry quarterly payout of $0.01 per share now produces a yield of just 0.65%, making it the only Dow component with a sub-1% yield. Cisco (CSCO), which initiated its payout less than a year ago, remains second-worst with a yield of just 1.27%.