Warren Buffett, the legendary Oracle of Omaha and arguably the most famous investor to have ever lived, owes a great deal of his success to his buy-and-hold approach that tends to focus on blue-chip dividend stocks. Berkshire Hathaway's huge positions in dividend stalwarts like Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) earn the company billions of dollars in dividend distributions annually.
Stable dividend stocks can be a strong defensive maneuver during periods of market turbulence—these companies tend to be well-established and less likely to falter amidst broader volatility—and the passive income they provide through distributions can be reinvested to compound gains. Still, a company's dividend metrics provide just a portion of an investor's broader view of that firm as a potential target for investment. That's why it may be helpful for dividend-seeking investors to also consider what Wall Street more broadly thinks about a particular stock before jumping in.
