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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.barrons.com/articles/4-companies-join-dividend-aristocrats-stocks-lag-market-51548447580\n4 Companies Have Joined the ‘Dividend Aristocrats’ — but Their Stocks Lag the Market\nJan. 26, 2019 7:00 am ET\nCaterpillar declared a dividend increase in July. Photograph by Pius Utomi/AFP/Getty Images\nFour new companies have joined the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, the group of firms in the index that have increased payouts for at least 25 straight years.\nMembers of the latest class are Caterpillar (ticker: CAT), United Technologies (UTX), Chubb (CB), and People’s United Financial (PBCT). They join a club that includes Medtronic (MDT), Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG).\nThe Back Story. Companies in the group must be members of the S&P 500, a benchmark that includes mid- and large-cap stocks.\n“Dividend investors look for payment stability and demonstrated growth, as they typically hold stocks for decades,” says Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.\nSolid dividend policy doesn’t always lead to short-term stock gains, however. The stocks of all four companies have lagged behind the S&P 500 over the past year.\nCaterpillar, which was recently yielding 2.5%, declared a dividend increase last July. It raised its quarterly disbursement by 10% to 86 cents from 78 cents.\nBut the maker of heavy equipment’s stock has fallen some 18% over the past year amid concerns about weakening global economic growth.\nUnited Technologies, an industrial conglomerate whose businesses include Pratt & Whitney jet engines, Otis elevators, and Carrier air conditioners, announced late last year that it will split into three separate companies.\nOne will focus on aerospace, another on elevators and escalators, and the third on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.\nThe firm’s board last October declared a quarterly dividend of 73.5 cents a share, up 5%. The stock, which yields about 2.5%, is off about 16% in the past 12 months.\nChubb, a property and casualty insurance company, yields 2.2%. The shares have lost about 13% over the past year. Last May, Chubb declared a quarterly dividend of 73 cents a share, up 2 cents, or nearly 3%.\nMeanwhile, shares of People’s United Financial have fallen some 16% in the past year. People’s is a bank-holding company based in Bridgeport, Conn.\nMany bank stocks have been under pressure due to worries about an economic slowdown, rising interest rates, and insufficient loan growth.\nThe stock yields 4.2%, partly a reflection of its weak price performance recently.\nMoving Forward. The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) has returned 2.94% this year, trailing behind the S&P 500’s 5.5% result. Over the past year, though, it’s done a little better than the broader market, returning minus 4.75%—compared with minus 5.03% for the S&P 500.\nThe newest Aristocrats, says Silverblatt, have had stable and growing dividends and have increased “cash-in-your-pocket returns each year to holders during the last two recessions.”\nHe adds: “Dividend increases have become more fashionable since last year’s tax-rate reduction, but the Aristocrats have been tested during non-fashionable times, which will return, as well as economic downturns.”\nWrite to Lawrence C. Strauss at lawrence.strauss@barrons.com\nFour new companies have joined the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, the group of firms in the index that have increased payouts for at least 25 straight years."