These 3 Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks Have Massive Yields

Dividend investors want the best of both worlds: a lot of current income plus the potential for growth over the long haul. It's important to pick dividend stocks that have a track record of success and good prospects looking ahead. With the stock market averaging about a 2% dividend yield, blue-chip stocks that can double that payout are in high demand. That's why it makes sense to take a closer look at General Electric (NYSE: GE), Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), and Altria Group (NYSE: MO), all of which are yielding more than 4% right now.

General Electric has been a mixed bag for investors lately, but the industrial conglomerate has a long track record of treating its shareholders well when it comes to dividends. GE was a Dividend Aristocrat until the financial crisis led it to make a massive dividend cut in order to support its financial services division. Since then, though, General Electric has gotten back on the dividend growth bandwagon, with regular increases that have more than doubled its payout since its bottom in 2009. The stock currently yields 4.1%.

General Electric is at a turning point right now, with new CEO John Flannery working toward coming up with a long-term strategy for the next 10 years to help the conglomerate recover from recent weakness. With its recent foray into the energy sector having proven to be ill-timed, GE has to decide whether to stay the course and hope for a cyclical uptick or to pivot toward higher-growth areas like healthcare. Strength in initiatives like the Internet of Things as well as fast-growing industries like aerospace also hold plenty of potential for General Electric, and dividend investors can hope for both share-price gains and payout increases in the years to come.

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Source: Fool.com