September has garnered a reputation as the worst month for stock market performance, supported by compelling historical data. The S&P 500 has declined an average of 1.2% in September since 1928, making it the weakest month of the year for the index. Notably, September is the only month since 1926 to post negative average returns, at −0.85%. Stocks have declined in September 55% of the time since 1928, making it the only month since 1950 that has finished positive less than half the time.

Many institutional investors and mutual funds rebalance their portfolios at the end of the third quarter, leading to increased selling pressure. Additionally, the end of summer vacation season brings investors back to reassess their holdings, often resulting in profit-taking after the traditionally strong spring and summer months, like we have experienced this year. After a massive run off the market lows in April, now is the time to move to safer dividend-yielding blue chips.

Blue-chip stocks are shares of large, well-established, financially stable companies with a consistent and reliable performance history. They are often considered less risky and are a popular choice for long-term investors. Additionally, nearly all leaders in the category pay dependable, recurring dividends each quarter, regardless of the state of the economy. The term “blue chip” originates from the game of poker, wherein a blue chip is the highest-value chip.

We identified five blue-chip giants that remain investor favorites and favorites on Wall Street to this day. All are rated Buy at the top Wall Street firms we cover, and all are outstanding ideas for long-term growth and income investors, having paid investors a dividend for over 100 years.

Why do we cover blue-chip dividend stocks?

Investors love dividend stocks, especially the blue-chip variety, because they offer a significant income stream and have massive total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892, and it started paying dividends to shareholders in 1893. This company remains a top long-time holding of Warren Buffett and pays a dependable 3% dividend. He owns a massive 400 million shares, which are up solidly in 2025. Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, offering consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands.

Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, the company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including:

• Diet Coke
• Coca-Cola Light
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
• Caffeine-free Diet Coke
• Cherry Coke
• Fanta Orange
• Fanta Zero Orange
• Fanta Zero Sugar
• Fanta Apple
• Sprite
• Sprite Zero Sugar
• Simply Orange
• Simply Apple
• Simply Grapefruit
• Fresca
• Schweppes
• Dasani
• Fuze Tea
• Glacéau Smartwater
• Glacéau Vitaminwater
• Gold Peak
• Ice Dew
• Powerade
• Topo Chico
• Minute Maid

Globally, it is the number one provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juice drinks, with strong financial results.

Through the world’s most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of over 1.9 billion servings per day. It is also important to remember that the company owns 16% of Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), which continues to deliver.

UBS has a Buy rating and has a $84 target price.

Eli Lilly

This blue-chip healthcare giant has paid dividends to shareholders since 1885. Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) is a medicine company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets products in the human pharmaceutical products segment.

Its cardiometabolic health products include:

• Basaglar
• Humalog
• Humalog Mix 75/25
• Humalog U-100
• Humalog U-200
• Humalog Mix 50/50
• insulin lispro, and others
• Humulin
• Humulin 70/30
• Jardiance
• Mounjaro
• Trulicity
• Zepbound

Its oncology products include Cyramza, Erbitux, Tyvyt, and Verzenio. The company’s immunology products include Ebglyss, Olumiant, Omvoh, and Taltz. And the neuroscience products include Emgality and Kisunla.

Lilly, through its subsidiary POINT Biopharma Global, is engaged in radiopharmaceutical discovery, development, and manufacturing efforts, as well as the development of clinical and preclinical radioligand therapies for cancer treatment. It is also developing an oral small-molecule inhibitor of a4b7 integrin for inflammatory bowel disease. It also owns a lead therapeutic molecule, FXR314.

UBS has a Buy rating with a target price of $895.

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was founded more than 185 years ago as a soap and candle company and has paid dividends to shareholders since 1891. It is now focused on providing branded consumer packaged goods to consumers worldwide.

The company’s segments include:

• Beauty
• Grooming
• Health Care
• Fabric & Home Care
• Baby
• Feminine & Family Care

The company’s products are sold in approximately 180 countries and territories primarily through mass merchandisers, e-commerce, including social commerce channels, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, department stores, distributors, wholesalers, specialty beauty stores, including airport duty-free stores, high-frequency stores, pharmacies, electronics stores, and professional channels.

It also sells directly to individual consumers. It has operations in approximately 70 countries.

Procter & Gamble offers products under these brands and others, such as:

• Head & Shoulders
• Herbal Essences
• Pantene
• Rejoice
• Olay,
• Old Spice
• Safeguard
• Secret
• SK-II
• Braun
• Gillette
• Venus
• Crest
• Oral-B
• Ariel
• Downy
• Gain
• Tide
• Always
• Always Discreet
• Tampax
• Bounty

Wells Fargo has an Overweight rating with a $173 target price.

PPG Industries

Formerly known for years as Pittsburgh Paint and Glass, the company recently distributed a $2.5 billion dividend in the form of share dividends to its shareholders. In addition, it has paid dividends to shareholders since 1899. PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments.

The Performance Coatings segment offers:

• Coatings
• Solvents
• Adhesives
• Sealants
• Sundries
• Software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing
• Light industrial coatings and specialty coatings for signs
• Wood stains, paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors
• Coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft

The Industrial Coatings segment offers coatings, adhesives, and sealants, as well as metal pretreatments, services, and coatings applications for:

• Appliances, agricultural and construction equipment
• Consumer electronics, automotive parts, and accessories
• Building products
• Kitchenware
• Vehicles and other finished products.
• On-site coatings services

It also provides coatings for metal cans, closures, plastic and aluminum tubes for food, beverage and personal care, promotional, and specialty packaging; amorphous precipitated silica for tires, battery separators, and other end-users; Teslin substrates for labels, e-passports, drivers’ licenses, breathable membranes, and loyalty and identification cards; and organic light-emitting diode materials, displays and lighting lens materials, optical lenses, color-change products, and photochromic dyes,

Wells Fargo has an Overweight rating with a target price of $135.

UGI

UGI Corp. (NYSE: UGI) owns AmeriGas, the largest propane marketer in the United States, and has paid shareholder dividends faithfully since 1885. UGI distributes natural gas to approximately 677,000 customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania counties through its distribution system, which comprises approximately 12,500 miles of gas mains. Additionally, it distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally.

The company operates through four segments:

• AmeriGas Propane
• UGI International
• Midstream & Marketing
• UGI Utilities

Through its extensive network of 1,400 propane distribution locations, it distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers.

The company distributes liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) to:

• Residential
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Agricultural
• Wholesale
• Automobile fuel customers
• Provides logistics, storage, and other services to third-party LPG distributors

In addition, it retails natural gas, liquid fuels, and electricity to approximately 12,400 residential, commercial, and industrial customers at 42,000 locations.

Furthermore, the company distributes natural gas to approximately 677,000 customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania counties through its distribution system, which comprises approximately 12,500 miles of gas mains. Additionally, it supplies electricity to approximately 62,600 customers in northeastern Pennsylvania through 2,560 miles of lines and 14 substations.

Additionally, it operates electric generation facilities, which include:

• Coal-fired
• Landfill gas-fueled
• Solar-powered
• Natural gas-fueled facilities
• Natural gas liquefaction, storage, and vaporization facility
• Propane storage and propane-air mixing stations
• Rail transshipment terminals

It manages natural gas pipeline and storage contracts; develops, owns, and operates pipelines, gathering infrastructure, and gas storage facilities.

Mizuho has an Outperform rating with a $39 price objective.

Three High-Yielding Dividend Kings Are September Passive Income Bargains

 

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