10 Top-Performing Dividend Stocks

Dividend-paying stocks that combine healthy balance sheets with hefty yields can provide steady income, cushion against market downturns, and grow investments at a healthy clip.

In July 2026, the top-performing dividend payers included information technology services company Accenture ACN, life insurance company Lincoln Financial Group LNC, and computer hardware company HP HPQ. To find the month’s 10 best-performing income-focused stocks, we screened the Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index, which tracks the 100 highest-yielding stocks from a broad basket of consistent dividend payers.

The Top-Performing Dividend Leaders of July

1. Accenture ACN
2. Lincoln Financial Group LNC
3. HP HPQ
4. Chord Energy CHRD
5. Murphy Oil MUR
6. Lamb Weston Holdings LW
7. Penske Automotive Group PAG
8. Paychex PAYX
9. Chevron CVX
10. ADT ADT

How Have Dividend Stocks Performed?

Over the past month, the Dividend Leaders Index rose 5.88%, while the broad Morningstar Dividend Composite Index gained 3.93%. In the 12 months leading up to July 31, the Dividend Leaders Index gained 27.45%, while the Dividend Composite Index gained 23.99%. The overall US stock market, as measured by the Morningstar US Market Index, has lost 0.51% on the month and risen 19.79% on the year.

Yields and Metrics for July’s Best-Performing Dividend Stocks

Accenture

Information technology services company Accenture gained 34.90% in July and has dropped 35.44% over the past 12 months. The stock’s $165.92 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 3.93%. Accenture pays investors an annual dividend of $6.52 per share. With a fair value estimate of $223 per share and a narrow economic moat, the stock is 26% undervalued and has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

Lincoln Financial Group

Life insurance company Lincoln Financial climbed 30.50% in July and is up 24.40% over the past 12 months. At $45.61, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.95% and an annual dividend of $1.80 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

HP

Computer hardware company HP rose 24.29% in July and gained 14.76% over the past 12 months. Trading at $27.27, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 4.4%. HP pays investors an annual dividend of $1.20 per share. The stock, which has no economic moat, is currently trading at a 14% premium to its fair value estimate of $24 per share, giving it a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.

Chord Energy

Oil and gas exploration and production company Chord climbed 22.82% in July and rose 31.95% over the past 12 months. At $140.38, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.7% and an annual dividend of $5.20 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

Murphy Oil

Oil and gas exploration and production company Murphy rose 22.05% in July and gained 65.62% over the past 12 months. Trading at $39.74, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.4%. Murphy pays investors an annual dividend of $1.35 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Lamb Weston Holdings

Packaged foods company Lamb Weston gained 21.70% in July and dropped 5.29% over the past 12 months. The stock’s $52.55 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 2.89%. Lamb Weston pays investors an annual dividend of $1.52 per share. With a fair value estimate of $65 per share and a narrow economic moat, the stock is 19% undervalued and has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

Penske Automotive Group

Auto and truck dealership Penske Automotive climbed 21.44% in July and rose 33.10% over the past 12 months. At $217.31, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.65% and an annual dividend of $5.76 per share. The stock, which has a narrow economic moat, is trading near its fair value estimate of $210 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Paychex

Software application firm Paychex rose 20.03% in July and lost 15.90% over the past 12 months. Trading at $116.84, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 4.07%. Paychex pays investors an annual dividend of $4.76 per share. The stock, which has a narrow economic moat, is currently trading at a 6% premium to its fair value estimate of $110 per share, giving it a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Chevron

Oil and gas firm Chevron climbed 18.74% in July and rose 34.40% over the past 12 months. At $196.83, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.62% and an annual dividend of $7.12 per share. The stock, which has a narrow economic moat, is trading near its fair value estimate of $192 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

ADT

Security and protection services firm ADT gained 17.54% in July and dropped 5.87% over the past 12 months. The stock’s $7.64 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 2.88%. ADT pays investors an annual dividend of $0.22 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.

The Best Dividend Stock Leaders: More Ideas to Consider

Investors who would like to find more top-performing or cheap dividend stocks can do the following:

• Use the Morningstar Investor Screener tool to find the best dividend stocks according to your specific criteria. You can search for stocks based on their dividend yields, valuation measures like price/earnings ratios, and more.
• Use Morningstar Investor to build a watchlist of the best dividend stocks and easily follow their valuations, ratings, and dividend yields.
• Watch our dividend stock video series, hosted by David Harrell, for ideas to consider.
• Review the full list of dividend stocks included in the Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index. Those dividend stocks with Morningstar Ratings of 4 or 5 stars are undervalued, according to our metrics.
• When it comes to buying stocks, it’s more than just dividends. Read here how valuations and competitive advantages—known as economic moats—matter to a stock’s potential for outperformance.
• Read Morningstar’s Guide to Stock Investing to learn how our approach to investing can inform your stock-picking process.

Companies not formally covered by a Morningstar analyst are statistically matched to analyst-rated companies, allowing our models to calculate a quantitative star rating.