Dividend Aristocrats gain 9 percent so far in 2017

C.R. Bard leads the 2017 Aristocrats

On average, the currently 52 Dividend Aristocrats are gaining exactly 9 percent year-to-date, based on total returns and equal weights.

The best performing Dividend Aristocrat in 2017 is C.R. Bard, the bottom performer is W.W. Grainger.

C.R. Bard (BCR) is gaining 39.8% this year, thanks to the recent buyout offer by fellow Dividend Aristocrat Becton Dickinson (BDX).

Three other Aristocrats are up at least 25 percent YTD based on a total return basis, being S&P Global (SPGI), Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and, surprisingly, McDonald's (MCD).

The biggest losers are Target (TGT) and W.W. Grainger (GWW), giving up more than 20% in 2017 so far.

Please check out the full stats below. The highest yielding dividend Aristocrat is AT&T with a 5 percent dividend. If you click on the table below you will see the full sized version.

C.R. Bard is the best performing Dividend Aristocrat YTD (click for bigger picture)