Investors Turn to Emerging Dividend Aristocrats for Stability
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 26 2026
0mins
Should l Buy CRM?
Source: CNBC
- Market Haven: In 2026, investors are turning to stable dividend payers due to concerns over artificial intelligence, with Wolfe Research noting that the Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) has risen over 9% year-to-date, demonstrating the effectiveness of its defensive strategy amid economic uncertainty.
- Telecom Performance: Verizon has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years, with a 20% stock price increase in 2026 and a current dividend yield of about 5.8%; despite cautious analyst sentiment, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded it to buy, highlighting its stable profits and dividends.
- Costco's Steady Growth: Costco has consistently raised its dividend over the past 20 years, recently increasing its quarterly payout from $1.16 to $1.30, with a 14% stock price rise in 2026, and analysts predict it will be a key beneficiary in a stimulated consumer environment, with a projected 6% upside in stock price over the next year.
- Emerging Dividend Aristocrats List: In addition to Verizon and Costco, Wolfe Research identified companies like BlackRock, Hershey Co, and Waste Management as emerging dividend aristocrats, highlighting their appeal and stability in an uncertain market.
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Analyst Views on CRM
Wall Street analysts forecast CRM stock price to rise
39 Analyst Rating
29 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 179.310
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
Current: 179.310
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
About CRM
Salesforce, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) technology company. Its artificial intelligence (AI) powered Agentforce 360 Platform offers sales, service, marketing, commerce, collaboration, data management, integration, analytics, and information technology (IT) service solutions. It enables customers to build and deploy digital labor for employees and customers, leveraging autonomous AI agents across business functions. Its service offerings include Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service, Agentforce 360 Platform, Slack and Others. The Agentforce Sales provides sales capabilities and tools built for organizations across prospecting, sales engagement, team collaboration, sales analytics and AI, sales programs, sales performance, partner management, and revenue and orders. The Agentforce Service provides field service solutions that enable companies to connect service agents, dispatchers and mobile employees through platform to schedule, dispatch and manage jobs.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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