A company of interest, Johnson & Johnson, has had some volatility in price lately but still has a very interesting story to tell.

 

The below chart shows Johnson & Johnson for the last 20 years: the black line is the stock price, the bold green line is the dividend per share and the thick grey bars are highlighting the US recessions during those 20 years.

 

As we can see, through both recessions and the volatility in its price, Johnson & Johnson has continued to grow their dividend year over year. In 1998 Johnson and Johnson paid an annual dividend of just over $0.40 a share. Today they pay an annual dividend of $3.42 a share, a 7.5 fold increase in just 20 years! 

 

We favour this kind of predictability in our holdings throughout volatile market cycles and economic downturns. This compounding can be very powerful for you and your portfolio.