The noble 30 is a select group of real European Dividend Aristocrats that have at least 20 years of increasing or sustained dividends. Hence, I consider these the best of the best International dividend stocks from Europe.
The requirements for European Dividend Aristocrats are:
- having shown resilience during the Great Recession and the 2020 pandemic. They have either increased or sustained their dividend since at least since the beginning of 2000.
- the company is of blue-chip nature, hence having at least a 5 billion market cap.
The list is limited to 30 European dividend aristocrats and the companies that I have further analyzed include a hyperlink to their post.
The Noble 30 – European Dividend Aristocrats Index
- Nestle SA
- Unilever NV
- Munich Re AG
- Air Liquide SA
- Halma Plc
- Total SA
- Sage Group Plc
- L’Oreal SA
- Coloplast A/S
- Roche AG
- Wolters Kluwer NV
- Diageo Plc
- Fresenius SE
- Henkel AG & Co KGaA
- Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc
- SAP SE
- Croda International
- Chubb Ltd
- Koninklijke DSM NV
- Philips NV
- Assa Abloy A/B
- Novartis AG
- Lindt & Sprungli AG
- Castellum AB
- Novo Nordisk A/S
- Fresenius Medical Care AG
- Hermes International
- Sanofi SA
- Novozymes A/S
- British American Tobacco
Last but not least, you can find main statistics of these European Dividend Aristocrats further down below in this article.
Table of Contents
A brief introduction
Why this name?
The Noble 30 Index – Main Statistics
Auto-invest in the Noble 30
Statistics
Final thoughts
European dividend aristocrats – a brief introduction
For a long time I have been jealous at the US dividend aristocrats, because in my opinion there wasn’t really a true European equivalent.
For instance, US Dividend Aristocrats are stocks that must have at least 25 years of consecutive dividend increases and they must have a minimum market cap of $3 bln. European dividend aristocrats must have a minimum of increasing or sustained dividends for at least 10 consecutive years.
This is pretty “bleh” to me, because this doesn’t include the Great Recession from 2008-2009. It is very easy to grow dividends in the longest bull market ever, but how do we know that they are truly focused on paying out a growing dividend, even when hell is breaking lose and panic is in the streets?
10 years is therefore just too short for me and I am typically reluctant to invest in those companies. I want more!
That’s why I have selected 30 of the best European dividend aristocrats that have been growing or sustaining the dividend at least since before the Greatest Recession and have a market cap of more than 5 billion.
It is not that common for European companies to have such a track record. The main tradition of dividend policies in Europe is to pay out 50% of earnings. Hence why many dividends are cut again in times like this (pandemic).
Therefore, let me introduce to you the Noble 30!
Why this name?
The noble 30 are very special European dividend aristocrats. They have class, they are elite and they have been reliable so far when it comes to their dividend payments. They are often companies with a very long history, sometimes even dating back to the 19th century.
But they aren’t perfect either. Sometimes they had a year or few that they didn’t increase their dividend. That’s OK, because I expect them in such case at least to maintain it. It’s actually a bit misleading to call them an Aristocrat, because it creates quite some confusion with their US equivalent.
They have one thing in common though: they are true elite European dividend stocks!
Therefore I call them: the Noble 30.
I like this name much more, because aristocrats have their title due to hereditary and is often attached to their land. Nobles have been given their social status and are usually still considered as “commoners”. A good example of noblemen were Knights. I believe that this fits much better to my own philosophy to life!
Why just 30 European International Dividend Stocks?
Putting a limit on the amount of members makes it exclusive.
30 stocks is also a perfect size to build an ETF for. It gives more than enough diversification and it’s much more easier to track. These are also typically high quality companies with a strong focus on shareholder return.
Consider it the equivalent of the Dow Jones Index. Or better said, the Noble 30 Index 💪
The Noble 30 – Main Statistics
Stock prices fluctuate continuously and this affects therefore key ratio’s like dividend yield. Hence why I’m maintaining the main statistics in a Google Sheet. This is the best way for me to present you with the actual dividend yield and payout ratios.
Note:
* Years highlighted with an light orange color are stocks for which I’ve not been able to trackback the full dividend history. I was only able to get to this amount of years due to extensive online desk research and therefore it serves as a minimum amount of years. If you have evidence that the company has an even longer track record without dividend cuts, then please get in touch with me. I will be more than happy to increase the quality of data in this overview.
Auto-Invest in the Noble 30 Index
Are you interested to invest at once in the whole Noble 30 as if it were an ETF?
Well, look no further, because it’s now possible by using Trading212. I just started to auto-invest 250 Euro on a monthly basis in my European Noble 30 Pie
It already consists of 29 out of the 30 stocks in this list. 1 Company is not available yet, because Trading 212 is not able to access the Swedish market yet. Hence, we’ll need to wait a bit longer for Castellum A/B.
However, if you are more into buying shares at a traditional broker which I personally use the most, then definitely have a look at DEGIRO. At the moment you get 50 Euros in credits to get started*.
* This applies to people living in the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. Terms and Conditions may apply.
Recommended Read: An honest review of DEGIRO
Investing involves risk of loss.
Noble 30 Statistics
Now that we know the index, let’s have a look at some of the statistics 👇
Evolving the index
I consider this list of European international dividend stocks a first MVP. It took me a long time and a lot of effort to do the analysis and get to this list. I have analyzed 200+ stocks and their investor relations pages to make sure that the data presented is as accurate as possible.
Now is the time to further improve this list and really evolve these noblemen. Let me know when you find any mistakes in the data or if you have any further suggestions.
I will personally review the index on a quarterly basis. Dividend cuts would be the main reason why a stock would drop from this list. Let’s cross fingers that this won’t happen too often.
Final Thoughts
I’m so happy that I finally finished my dividend history research for all these companies and many more!
I truly believe that this is a great list with European dividend aristocrats and it sometimes felt like watching a historical documentary when browsing through their annual reports.
I believe that as Europeans we can be really proud on the heritage of some of the companies in the Noble 30 index ⚔.
Some of these companies have strongly influenced society in very positive ways. Just think about the historical achievements of Roche and Novartis. Some illnesses are just a thing of the past now!
Having said that, I just hope to have inspired you with some stock ideas which allows you to strengthen your international dividend stocks portfolio.
Would you have any questions, suggestions or if you just want to show some ❤ for this index, then please let me know via the comment section.
Thank you for stepping by!
Yours Truly,
European Dividend Growth Investor
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Continue Reading Chesnara Plc : a Small-Cap dividend growth stock from the UK
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Continue Reading Why I like to own Ahold Delhaize stock so much
Change Log
- 30-Apr-2020: I have removed Royal Dutch Shell from the list. They have announced to cut their dividend by 66% and this was their first dividend cut since the second world war. Read here my take on it.
- 25-May-2020: I have included Croda International plc to the list to replace Royal Dutch Shell. It’s a company that I wasn’t aware of earlier and should’ve been on the initial list. It ticks all the criteria.
- 29-Oct-2020: Sodexo SA announced to cut its dividend. Quote: “To protect the balance sheet given the severity of the Covid-19 downturn in activity, and the uncertainty as to the timing of recovery, and in solidarity with the teams, the Board has decided not to propose a dividend for Fiscal 2020 even if the Underlying net profit was positive.” I will seek a replacement in the upcoming days.
- 12-Nov-2020: Siemens announced a dividend cut when they announced their FY 2020 results. The company is being replaced by Castellum AB.
- 8-Jul-2021: Group Bruxelles Lambert and Sodexo cut it’s dividends last year. They are replaced by Fresenius SE and Fresenius Medical Care. Fresenius SE should’ve been on the list already in the first place.
- 11-July-2021: Danone SA and Red Electrica Corporation have cut their dividends this year (8% and 5% respectively). That’s why they have been replaced by Air Liquide SA and Novozymes A/S.
Now also on YouTube (22-Dec-2020)
Disclaimer
I’m not a certified financial planner/advisor nor a certified financial analyst nor an economist nor a CPA nor an accountant nor a lawyer. I’m not a finance professional through formal education. I’m a person who believes and takes pride in a sense of freedom, satisfaction, fulfillment and empowerment that I get from being financially competent and being conscious managing my personal money. The contents on this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. I can’t promise that the information shared on my blog is appropriate for you or anyone else. By reading this blog, you agree to hold me harmless from any ramifications, financial or otherwise, that occur to you as a result of acting on information provided on this blog.
Its good to know about these,but it would be better if they were in the format of the US dividend champions with all other parameters such as ex dividend date, ratios, etc
Hi Arun,
Thanks for stepping by and I hear what you say. Unfortunately that would cost me really a lot of time to maintain and it’s not something that I would currently like to spend my time on. I hope you understand.
I do review the list every quarter and I have a gSheet which is available with some metrics after someone signs-up to the blog.
Metrics it includes are:
Regards,
eDGI
Great research! Thanks
Thank you Mischu, much appreciated!
Hi, I found your site recently and it has been very helpful because there are not many investors blogging about EU stocks. Keep it up
Hi Libor,
Thanks for stepping by! Glad to hear, I appreciate your feedback 🙂
That’s a very nice list you have created! Indeed it is hard to find the same sort of dividend aristocrats list for EU companies. Mostly because they tend to adjust their dividend in hard times more easily than in the US.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks you mr Groeigeld!
I enjoy your blog very much! Not many others who write specifically about our noble European corporations, some of which even have survived the devastation of two world wars. That takes some tenacity. When you did your tease arch, did you by any chance manage to single out the companies who have kept their dividends up all the way from the early 1990:s? There are articles about the American Dividend Aristocrats showing that only some 8 of their companies in fact have managed to be on the list for that long time. Would love to see your statistics on that!… Read more »
Hi Jan,
I might not fully get your question, but maybe it’s related to your other clarification question?
All the companies with at least 30 years increase or sustain are the companies that have been growing their dividends since the 90’s.
Unfortunately not a lot of companies have their annual report archives published with reports from before 2000 on the internet. Therefore it’s often hard to figure out if they were growing their dividends already before that.
PS. Could you define the “Years” in the list: is it years of dividends in general, or years of increased dividends, or years of increased and/or sustained dividends. 🙂
Hi Jan, Thanks for stepping by and for your appreciation 🙂 Regarding your question: these are the amount of years that the dividend hasn’t been cut. In other words and to answer your question more specifically: increased or sustained. I have mostly raw /non-formatted data at the moment, but I aim to release all the data in the upcoming weeks like i have done with the Unilever NV history so that you and others can have a look at it as well. It just requires some time on my end to clean and format it. PS: thanks for the catch,… Read more »
Hi!
Thanks for sharing all his hard work.
There are a couple of Spanish companies that fulfill the criteria:
– Enagas (5.5B and increasing the dividend since 2003). You can find the dividend history in the following link:
https://www.enagas.es/enagas/en/AccionistasEInversores/InformacionGeneral/Dividendos
– Inditex (73B and increasing the dividend since 2001). Although due to Covid19 the dividend was recently postponed.
Keep up the good work!
Hola Jose, Thanks for stopping by and your suggestions! – Enagas is on my list, but just fell out of the top 30 due to the number of years. British American Tobacco is the lowest on the list with 20 years. I treat Enagas as a stock on the reserve list in case one of the current companies would cut their dividend. Enagas is a holding in my desired portfolio (portfolio allocation strategy), because I don’t own any utilities or equivalents yet. I’m currently waiting it a bit out due to the oil crisis while at the same time having… Read more »
Greatly appreciated the work you put in building this list, and how you give it broader meaning and historical perspective. Kudos all around!
Eric
Thank you Eric, much appreciated!
I am grateful for this list. You have done a great job. I am new to investing and receiving dividends. I study all possible ways of investing. Thank you for sharing this information
about EU stocks.
Thanks for stopping by Roger and thanks for your kind words 🙏
hi there.
Good job on a great list. I have quite a few of Them, but surprised no more British companies are on it. Going forward i Would afvise you to relax a few of the limits to include super strong financial insurance companies like AXA SA, Allianz and especially CNP Assurances have an amazing track record. Remember their dividends are currently postponed, but not Cancelled. Its up to the French insurance regulator by October, but I Would fully expect Them to pay by end of the year.
Best regards,
Anders
Hi Anders, Thanks for stopping by! Regarding the British companies: there would indeed be more of them if I gave up on the 5 Billion market cap “rule”. I have that rule because I prefer to focus on the large cap companies, but you’re right. If I would create a small cap equivalent then it would largely consist out of British companies. Actually, maybe we just should create the small cap equivalent? Regarding the suggestions of the French “powerhouses”: the issue is that they cut their dividends in the great recession. I wanted to draw a line in the sand… Read more »
Great list great job. Just one name missing in my opinion. Rio Tinto.
Thanks for stopping by Milos! I heard about that one before and I will have a look at it. It wasn’t on my radar before, so I will check their dividend history to verify if it should be on this list or not.
Much appreciated 🙂
Plus no double tax on dividend as a benefit 😁
Europe is classified as old world, so that fact that the bar is lowered, means that Dividend Aristocrats do not feel well in western europe. I am sad to see that old tobaco killers are still doing well.
I recently reviewed random sample of US Dividend Aristocrats on my site and significant portion of them underperform S&P500 index even with dividends reinvested.
I hear you!
Regarding the performance: yes, I am not surprised. That’s why we should all do our own homework and not just buy any stock. I prefer to see several aspects like a good balance sheet, a catalyst and a margin of safety when buying shares.
Thanks for stopping by!
I did a quick check and it seems LISN.SW have decrease their dividend from CHF 1,750.00 to CHF 1,050.00
Hi Val,
Hmmmm, can you share a link with me on where you’ve seen that?
I just checked their investor relations website and the AGM meeting accepted the proposal of 1750 CHF.
https://www.lindt-spruengli.com/fileadmin/user_upload/corporate/user_upload/Investors/AGM/GV_2020___Minutes_short_E.pdf
Sorry, I looked it up on Yahoo Finance, but Lindt website is probably more accurate
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LISN.SW?p=LISN.SW&.tsrc=fin-srch&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9maW5hbmNlLnlhaG9vLmNvbS8_Z3VjZV9yZWZlcnJlcj1hSFIwY0hNNkx5OTNkM2N1WjI5dloyeGxMbU52YlM4Jmd1Y2VfcmVmZXJyZXJfc2lnPUFRQUFBTUg2alVkbUpYVUxCOG9CTDdmQmduV3U3TjFHQmJ1TklxQXZaa1dUSmlJcHFZLWZFM1lKOElIMlRHcEt1YTZ1N05yTm0wUjFHdGszeTdCRkJWaDUzMVBHVVNZYkg5bENHb1VtMXFpMlVkNG1GRmd5ZDRiWld0QXUxNE1FSk5UNnlTTmdFeldObVo5RnphVUMzNC04eEtGZm12ZFdZWDUzcm40TVAyX1dXeG1yJl9ndWNfY29uc2VudF9za2lwPTE1OTY4ODM0NDg&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFqHdT6Rlx1ChwFPIc-hr6_XnhRVbiB6u1R98h1gdEIxjeWwtAvuwQMbgUKOx94niw4lRxN9Syv6YZF8J4CWp3zyJs4RQ8rNXz0ijX140zdwtsvsYVySPy9fNMihm_XmWMmOpEiSjmFdVl8VJrvcHXA_OgrLmmsVuakI2fJYe5XH&_guc_consent_skip=1596883464
Hi there, great blog and super job put in it…congrats!
I have a question: have you figured out how to handle the currency risk in your strategy? I guess you live in EUR, so what if CHF and/or USD depreciate in the long run?
I am still struggling in trying to cope with this matter and I am wondering if it would make sense to just invest in stocks that provide dividends in my currency.
Many thanks!
Hi DDGI, I don’t look too much at it from that point of view. I find both USD and CHF strong currencies that might indeed fluctuate, but not in a sense like a Turkish Lira. At the same time I haven’t personally get influence on it either. Now, in my opinion you can do two things here: 1. you stick to EUR currency only and you look at companies with international exposure (i.e. Unilever), so that you do get to benefit from secular growth trends related to a certain geography. 2. just invest internationally and assume the currency fluctuations to… Read more »
Hi, this is a great index.
Under the “Facts about the index” you show a Swedish flag, but in the list I can’t find any Swedish companies. I assume they got replaced after the fact sheet was printed.
There are however two Swedish companies you could look into for this list. Castellum and Hufvudstaden. Both are real estate companies with 20+ years of dividend growth.
Hi Swiwi,
Thanks for catching the mistake. It’s not a mistake in the fact sheet, but I had the wrong flag icon selected for Assa Abloy. Sweden is therefore correct and it is domiciled in Sweden 🙂
I had Castellum and Hufvudstaden both on my radar, but I couldn’t find more than 19 years of dividend history at the time and Hufvudstaden doesn’t make the 5 billion mark. I’ll have to give Castellum another look then!
Thanks for stopping by 🙏
Thank you so much for this. I have used your link to sign up for a trading212 account and I’ve recreated the pay. I’m going to start investing a small amount (€100-€200) every month into it and see how it goes 🙂
Thank you farfett 🙏
Let me know how it goes or if you have any further questions.
Very interesting research and data. To further diversify our portfolios, here are great ideas. In fact some of them did not know them. Thank you for your great work.
Glad you like it Jaron! It’s an interesting index, but it doesn’t mean indeed that these are buy recommendations. Just some ideas to consider 🙂
Hi, First of all, a big thank you for consolidating so many points on your website. It is really interesting to read the way you have explained. I am very new to investing in stocks and have a question related to investing in the Noble 30. If I start a monthly plan of say 250 euro per month then do we get the dividend yield as the average of the 30 stocks?
Hi Abhinav,
Yes, that’s correct, but please be aware that it will be an after tax yield. As you can see, there is an average of about 21.9% dividend tax on the Noble 30 pie, so it is something to be aware of.
Ah, and you will get the dividends as per the pay-dates of the individual stocks. So most likely you will get the bulk of the dividends in April and May next year, not on a monthly basis.
Thanks for stopping by 🙏
Why not add CAGR column? It would be a nice added value!
Hi Milos, which CAGR? Of the EPS, FCF or the Dividend? Let me know and I might add it 🙂
I only know this https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cagr.asp
You could use 5 and 10 years time frame
So that’s exactly how the 10 yr dividend growth rate is computed in the gsheet. You can do this for anything 🙂
The Google Spreasheet has been actualized last on November last year……how do we get to the current Google Sheet ? Thank you
Hi Gee Bee, i just updated it. Thanks for pointing out. Unfortunately I didn’t find a way of automating the dividend details, because i don’t know of a reliable source. Hence, i keep this one up-to-date manually, typically around dividend announcements of the different companies.
Group Brussel Lambert NV is going to cut the dividend
Indeed, Thanks for mentioning it. I indicated in the list and I will find another company after all the upcoming dividend announcements to replace it.
Muchos gracias!
Hi, Fresenius took beating last week and currently approaching its low of 55 Eur from 3/2020 and 1/2019…looking at news from last week regarding the drop and covid is to blame again.
Hi man.
Here is an idea. How about adding 5/10 ratio?
I can tell you about the dividend “momentum”.
Take care
MM
Hi, I just want to mention some European companies with a great dividend history: Bunzl (UK; 28 years of increasing dividends), Kerry Group (Ireland), Fresenius (Germany; 28 years of increasing dividends; it’s the parent company of Fresenius Medical Care), Givaudan (Switzerland; 20 years of increasing dividends), Swedish Match (Sweden; please note that it paid special dividends on top of its regular dividend in some years, so the dividend history might look like it cut the dividend in the following years, though it didn’t). Not sure whether you consider US-companies officially headquartered in Ireland (but run from the U.S.) as European:… Read more »
Hi EDGI,
I reside in The Netherlands and I hold French stocks like Sodexo, Total and Danone. The dividend tax withheld by Degiro is 28%, however you indicated 12.8% rate in your table above. Has the tax rate changed recently (I assume there must be a treaty between NL and FR)?
Thanks,
Chris
[…] will be charged for 15% instead of 30% as for US stocks. Then this is one top3 of EuropeanDGI The Noble 30 list pays quarterly dividends and has done so for past 54 years. If is well known global brand similar […]
Hi.
Thank you for this wonderful list and the great work you put into it.
I have a suggestion: what about Sofina? It is one of the fewest real dividend aristocrats from Europe. (as seen from the American point of view, e.g. dividend streak longer than 25 years)
Greetings
Matthias