Dividend Stocks with Impressive Histories Struggle to Deliver Income

Three stalwart dividend stocks have earned a reputation for maintaining a decades-long streak of annual payout increases. These companies are Roper Technologies (NASDAQ:ROP), Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN), and Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW). Despite their impressive histories, however, these stocks offer meager returns to income investors.

Roper Technologies trades at $424.96 with a market cap of roughly $42.15 billion. It pays a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, or $3.64 annualized, with a reported yield of 0.84%. The company's raise cadence is intact, and it has generated $447 million in free cash flow in Q2 alone.

Nordson sits at $323.08 with a market cap of $18.09 billion. Its board just declared a $0.94 per share quarterly dividend, up from $0.82, lifting the annualized rate to $3.76. The reported yield is 0.99%. Nordson has a long-standing reputation as one of the market's most persistent dividend raisers.

Sherwin-Williams changes hands at $339.01, with a market cap near $83.72 billion. Its quarterly dividend is $0.80 per share, or $3.20 annualized, for a reported yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams has widely recognized status as a long-tenured Aristocrat.

Despite their impressive histories and raise patterns, these stocks offer little income to investors who need cash flow now. Roper's yield is 0.84%, Nordson's is 0.99%, and Sherwin-Williams' is 0.92%. These yields mean $10,000 invested today generates roughly $84, $99, and $92 in annual dividend income, respectively.