Dividend Kings have excellent track records for Dividend growth, and are often seen as some of the safest income investments to own. Two Dividend growth stocks that may look tempting and that investors may want to take a closer look at today are (NYSE: ABBV) and 3M (NYSE: MMM). They have been struggling this year and their yields are up over 4%. Here's a look at what's gotten investors bearish on these stocks -- and if they're good buys right now.

Healthcare company AbbVie pays a dividend yield of 4.1%, which is more than double the S 500 average of 1.7%. Including when it was part of Abbott Laboratories, the company has been increasing its dividend payments for 51 consecutive years. AbbVie also looks to be in a strong position to continue paying and increasing its dividend. That's because in each of the past two years, its free cash flow has totaled more than $20 billion -- double its annual dividend costs of $10 billion.

At face value, AbbVie looks like a solid dividend stock. But one of the reasons investors haven't been buying up the stock, and why it's down 10% year to date, is that it's facing some uncertainty in its top line. Top-selling drug Humira has begun to lose patent protection, and this year management expects sales to decline by 37% -- and that's on the low end of an initial estimate that projected sales could drop by as much as 55%.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com