The Netherlands is one of those income investors friendly countries in Europe. Especially for dividend investors, because it has one of the lowest dividend withholding taxes compared to other countries (15%). Hence, it’s about time to share with you some of the best Dutch dividend stocks that continue to reward their shareholders.
But before we start, the Dutch dividend stocks in this article have one thing in common:
- they either have a dividend growth streak of more than 10 years,
- or they started a bit more recently, but with a progressive dividend policy and strong conviction
And to tell you a little secret, I think that some of these have the potential to one day become a true European dividend aristocrat😉.
Having said that, let’s get started and let’s discuss these Dutch dividend paying stocks!
This article is part of a series in which I’m analyzing dividend stocks per European country:
– 5 highest yielding German dividend stocks
– 5 highest yielding French dividend stocks
Data for these Dutch dividend stocks in this article might be out-of-date at the time of reading. Please verify this data if it’s part of your decision making process.
- 1. Akzo Nobel N.V.
- 2. Aperam S.A.
- 3. ASM International N.V.
- 4. ASML Holding N.V.
- 5. ASR Nederland B.V.
- 6. IMCD N.V.
- 7. Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.
- 8. Koninklijke DSM
- 9. Koninklijke Philips N.V.
- 10. Koninklijke Vopak
- 11. NN Group N.V.
- 12. Signify N.V.
- 13. Unilever Plc
- 14. Wolters Kluwer N.V.
- 15. Royal Dutch Shell
- 👉 Live Dutch Dividend Stocks data from this article
- 💎 Interesting Statistic
1. Akzo Nobel N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 2.47% | Dividend Per Share | €1.98 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 13 | Sector | Materials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 3.71% | EPS Payout Ratio | 45% |
Akzo Nobel (AMS:AKZA | ISIN: NL0013267909) is a materials company mostly known for its paint and performance coatings products for both industry and consumers worldwide. You might actually have used their products when maintaining your property because Dulux and Hammerite are one of the top-selling consumer brands.
The company as we know it today is a result of a merger between Akzo and Nobel in 1969. However, their roots date back all the way to the 17th century. This makes it another historic company listed on one of the European stock exchanges.
Fast forward to today and we can observe that the company operates in more than 80 countries with an annual turnover of 9.4 Bln.
Akzo Nobel is little known in the international dividend community, but just know that their dividend policy is to pay a stable to rising dividend. It has been doing this since the great financial crisis in 2008 and it has shown resilience during the 2020 pandemic crash.
I believe it’s a nice company to start with in this list of Dutch dividend stocks 👌
2. Aperam S.A.
| Dividend Yield | 4.6% | Dividend Per Share | €2.00 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 7 | Sector | Materials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 5.92% | EPS Payout Ratio | 91.74% |
Aperam S.A. (AMS:APAM | ISIN LU0569974404) is another materials company, but in this case, it’s headquartered in Luxembourg. I guess their local stock exchange is too small and that’s why it’s listed on the AEX in Amsterdam.
The company focuses on the production of stainless and specialty steel. It got listed on the stock exchange after AcerlorMittal spun it off in 2011.
Being in the steel market is not an easy business. Margins are slim and it’s very sensitive to governmental policies, either via steel dumping (China) or protectionism (US). On the other hand, it has recently been performing really well due to rising commodity prices in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, Aperam has been able to grow its dividend over the last 7 years. This in itself is not a lot, but I take some confidence from their dividend policy. It intends to pay a base dividend which is anticipated to progressively increase over time. At this moment in time, I treat this as a typical high dividend yield stock with slow growth.
3. ASM International N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 0.90% | Dividend Per Share | €2.50 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 12 | Sector | Information Technology |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 28.99% | EPS Payout Ratio | 25% |
ASM International (AMS:ASM | ISIN: NL0000334118) is a company operating in a very hot semiconductor sector. It specializes in design, manufacturing, and service of wafer processing equipment to support the fabrication of semiconductor devices.
It should come as no surprise that this company also originates from Eindhoven, which I consider the “silicon valley” of Europe. Other well-known multinational companies from this area are Philips, ASML, and NXP.
Unfortunately, this stock is very expensive right now with a Price to Earnings of 33. Inversely this results in a relatively low dividend yield.
But don’t be misled though, because its 5-year average dividend growth has been a whopping 29%! It’s been clearly a boon for many semiconductor companies over the last 10 years.
Hence, ASM International is definitely on my watchlist for when we would experience a severe market crash. Until then, it’s a bit too hot and low yielding for me to get interested.
4. ASML Holding N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 0.90% | Dividend Per Share | €5.50 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 14 | Sector | Information Technology |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 35.59% | EPS Payout Ratio | 37% |
ASML Holding N.V. (AMS:ASML | ISIN: NL0010273215) is the ultimate semiconductor stock in this list. It was founded in 1984 as part of a joint venture with Philips N.V., but it became an independent company in 1995.
ASML didn’t have an easy ride and had to lay off quite some people back in 2008. A 15% investment by Intel, 5% by TSMC, and 3% by Samsung really helped ASML to survive back then.
Even better, it allowed ASML to really start selling EUV technology to those companies and as a result, it effectively has a monopoly in the industry.
I would even argue that now is the time for ASML to do something back and help Intel with a 15% investment. Did you know that ASML’s market cap has surpassed Intel over time and that it’s now worth ~45% more than Intel?
Having said that, their monopoly comes at a hefty price, because the company is currently trading at a 41 PE. This is too expensive for me, even if it’s growing at a rapid pace.
Hence, like ASM International, I would only consider buying ASML if it drops significantly during an overall market crash. Until then, I’ll try to curtail my #FOMO.
On the other hand, it started to pay dividends in 2007 and I consider it one of the best dividend stocks in the Netherlands.
5. ASR Nederland B.V.
| Dividend Yield | 5.80% | Dividend Per Share | €2.42 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 8 | Sector | Financials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 13.76% | EPS Payout Ratio | 37% |
ASR Nederland B.V. (AMS:ASR | ISIN: NL0011872643) is one of the major Dutch insurance companies. The company is a spin off from Fortis which got nationalized during the great financial recession in 2008.
It took until 2016 for the Dutch government to bring back the company to the stock exchange and until 2017 to sell its full stake in ASR.
Hence, the company is fairly new as an option to dividend growth investors, even though it has a long history.
Nowadays the company is mostly known for it’s insurance brands “ASR verzekeringen”, “De Amertfoortse” and “Ditzo”.
Having said that, ASR aims to pay a stable or growing dividend as mentioned in their dividend policy.
Though, one of their major risks is regulatory risk. As an example, the Dutch regulators called on all Financials to suspend paying a dividend until the dust settled after the initial covid-19 impact.
ASR listened to this call, but later in the year it resumed paying dividends again. Technically you could argue that there was a dividend cut, but the company has restored that payment via a special dividend afterwards. That’s why you won’t see this gap in the dividend growth chart below due to these special circumstances for which I am giving ASR a pass.
Just note though, if you are depending on passive income during such times, then a dividend payment delay can be quite impactful. It’s therefore important to always take this into consideration when investing into Dutch financials for passive income.
Having said all of that, I find this company attractively valued right now based on my screening criteria. I aim to research it a bit deeper before I would consider initiating a position.
6. IMCD N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 1.05% | Dividend Per Share | €1.62 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 8 | Sector | Materials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 24.12% | EPS Payout Ratio | 45% |
IMCD NV (AMS:IMCD | ISIN: NL0010801007) is a supplier and distributor of specialty chemicals to many of the major players in the market. I would say that it’s a pretty unknown company even though it’s listed on the AEX (the Dutch major index).
It’s probably a result of being in the B2B business without being a lot in the news either. But it doesn’t make it less sexy, because it quadrupled their revenue over the last 10 years. Maybe this is also the reason why their stock feels so expensive with a PE of ~43?
Nevertheless, it’s quite impressive to see their dividend growth performance since it became public in 2014. Their 5 year compounded annual dividend growth is a whopping 24%.
If I’d had to place a bet, then I would rather wait for IMCD to come down than to put my money in AkzoNobel right now. Just based on what I’ve seen so far from screening both companies.
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7. Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 3.37% | Dividend Per Share | €0.95 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 15 | Sector | Consumer Staples |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 9.7% | EPS Payout Ratio | 44% |
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize (AMS:AD | ISIN: NL0011794037) is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Ahold was originally founded in 1887 until it decided to merge with Delhaize in 2016.
What is important to know is that Ahold earns ~60% of its revenue from the United States. Besides that, it also owns Bol.com which is the equivalent of Amazon in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Good news for investors though, Ahold recently announced that it is considering to IPO Bol.com. I think this move could unlock a lot of shareholder value going forward.
But it doesn’t stop there, the company continues to reward shareholders very handsomely. It has a buyback yield of approximately 2.5% per year and it pays a dividend of ~3.3%.
Truth to be told, I bought a lot of Ahold Delhaize earlier this year in the low 20’s. It is one of the stocks in the AEX that I’m most bullish on, also at a current price of around 28 Euro and a forward PE of ~15.
Read More: Ahold Delhaize stock analysis
8. Koninklijke DSM
| Dividend Yield | 1.55% | Dividend Per Share | €2.50 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 28 | Sector | Materials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 7.39% | EPS Payout Ratio | 39% |
Koninklijke DSM (AMS:DSM | ISIN: NL0000009827) is from origin a chemical company, but it has recently transformed itself into the field of health and nutrients.
Actually, did you know that their name originates from the mining industry (Dutch State Mines)? That’s how it really started a century ago and I can tell you that I’ve grown up under their smoke 😉
Hence, I know this company pretty well and I’m truly amazed by their successful transformation into Nutrition. It’s one of the reasons why I regret so much not having any position in DSM.
The stock price has really lifted up to levels that I simply find too expensive.
Nevertheless, the company deserves a strong position among Europe’s best dividend aristocrats. It has increased its dividend for 28 years and I see no reason why it should stop anytime soon.
Hence, consider me a buyer of this stock if it trades around a 2.25% dividend yield. An earnings multiple of 25 is just too lofty for me.
9. Koninklijke Philips N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 3.03% | Dividend Per Share | €0.85 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 29 | Sector | Healthcare |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 1.22% | EPS Payout Ratio | 127% |
Koninklijke Philips NV (AMS:PHIA | ISIN: NL0000009538) is an iconic Dutch company which recently finished its transformation into medical technology.
Most of you might know Philips from their consumer brands like Televisions, Vacuum cleaners and for instance Coffee machines. It’s probably good to know that these became royalties because Philips stopped producing them.
Nowadays it’s a pure MedTech player in fierce competition with the likes of Medtronics, Johnson & Johnson, and General Electric. It’s not going so well yet, due to their respirator’s recall in the United States which might lead to some large fines.
And this is exactly the problem with Philips which we’ve seen with its current CEO. Frans van Houten has been making mistake over mistake since 2011 and it’s a miracle that he even pulled off this transformation.
But his mistakes are clearly visible in the earnings numbers. They are nothing special and that’s also the main reason for very low dividend growth.
Just to be clear, I do own a small position in Philips, but I would like to see a better performance. Only then will I increase my position.
Read more: Philips stock analysis
10. Koninklijke Vopak
| Dividend Yield | 4.42% | Dividend Per Share | €1.25 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 20 | Sector | Energy |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 3.55% | EPS Payout Ratio | 89% |
Koninklijke Vopak NV (AMS:VPK | ISIN: NL0009432491) was founded in 2000 after a merger between Van Ommeren and Pakhoed. It is a company that stores and handles products ranging from chemicals, oil & gas and biofuels.
This company is one of my surprises from researching Dutch dividend stocks because it has a surprisingly strong dividend growth track record. I honestly thought that a company like Vopak would’ve had several dividend cuts as a result of the great financial crisis and the oil crisis in 2016.
Having said that, what I like about this company is that it has a specific business model in which it earns from companies storing their commodities. On the other hand, it also has the ability to store some of the transitory fuels like LNG which allows it to benefit from the energy transition.
Hence, Vopak is definitely a company on which I would like to do some more due diligence. It doesn’t seem too expensive and their PE feels a little bit misleading due to their recent dip in earnings.
11. NN Group N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 5.47% | Dividend Per Share | €2.40 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 7* | Sector | Financials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 7.78% | EPS Payout Ratio | 41% |
NN Group NV (AMS:NN | ISIN: NL0010773842) is one of the major insurance and asset management companies in the Netherlands. Many of you might know the company from its iconic Nationale Nederlanden brand. It’s often visible on several big buildings in the larger cities in Europe.
Having said that, the company only went public in 2014 after the spin-off from ING NV. But since then it has been very vocal in its goals: shareholder appreciation!
In their dividend policy, they mention that NN Group intends to pay a progressive ordinary dividend per share. It has been doing this quite boldly with a 5-year average dividend growth of 7.8%.
It’s one of these stocks which I really regretted not stepping into when it was trading in the low 20s. It was the ultimate opportunity and would’ve given me already a 10% yield on cost. The writings were on the wall as they say, but somehow I thought it was not the right decision at the time.
Pity! But with a 5% dividend yield, it is still giving a really nice return to shareholders. Hence, I might consider initiating a position in this Dutch dividend stock on steroids once the price dips. I could definitely use another boring insurance company in my portfolio.
* like ASR, NN Group was not able to pay their final dividend early on in 2020 due to a request from the Dutch regulators. However, it did pay the suspended dividend with the interim dividend in 2021. That’s why, like with ASR, I’m giving them a pass. There was no impact though when looking at the dividend growth from a calendar year vs fiscal year point of view.
Read more: what sector to invest in right now (highlighting NN Group)
12. Signify N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 3.34% | Dividend Per Share | €1.45 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 7 | Sector | Industrials |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 6.67% | EPS Payout Ratio | 47% |
Signify N.V. (AMS:LIGHT | ISIN: NL0011821392) is a spin-off from Philips NV in 2016. The company mainly produces lights for consumers and professionals under the brand Philips.
It is interesting to see how this company develops because to many investors this was a dying business. Hence, a spin-off from Philips was much applauded.
But like all other spin-offs from Philips NV, Signify seems to perform much better on its own. We can’t really see it back in their revenue growth, but their earnings and cash flow have definitely improved.
We have seen this several times before with perfect examples of ASML and NXP. It just makes me wonder if it’s generally better to just buy Philips’ IPOs versus the company itself. Not sure if there’s much left though now that it has spun off everything except their healthcare business.
Having said that, the company provides a decent dividend yield with okayish dividend growth. It doesn’t fit in my portfolio, but maybe it does in yours?
13. Unilever Plc
| Dividend Yield | 4.19% | Dividend Per Share | €1.71 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 54 | Sector | Consumer Staples |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 6.22% | EPS Payout Ratio | 79% |
Unilever Plc (AMS:UNA | ISIN: GB00B10RZP78) is nowadays a British consumer goods company after the company gave up its dual listing. I have written a lot already about Unilever on this blog, so I won’t repeat everything in this article.
But oh boy, this is one of the most iconic European dividend aristocrats. It has a dividend growth track record of 54 years which is quite unique for a European company.
However, it has been facing some headwinds in the last few years. It struggles to increase its revenues and margins and I feel this is due to its stakeholder focus vs shareholder focus. The company wants to do good for the people and the planet and this seems to come at a cost.
I’m fine with that, but I think it’s important to realize this. Currently, it allows me to accumulate Unilever shares when the price dips at attractive dividend yields.
Though, I’m losing a bit of my bullishness on the company, because it’s fundamentals are getting weaker quarter by quarter. It’s really time for some management change!
Read more:
– My thoughts about Unilever based on recent developments
– Unilever stock analysis (video)
– Unilever dividend history
PS: the ultimate Dutch dividend stock chart 👇
14. Wolters Kluwer N.V.
| Dividend Yield | 1.65% | Dividend Per Share | €1.57 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 35 | Sector | Information Technology |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | 14.72% | EPS Payout Ratio | 57% |
Wolters Kluwer (AMS:WKL | ISIN: NL0000395903) is a worldwide leader in the information services industry. Many people in the Legal & Regulatory, Tax & Accounting, Health and Governance, Risk & Compliance industry can’t really operate without access to information stored in Wolter Kluwer’s databases.
Its main competitor is RelX (UK dividend stock) and together they form some kind of Oligopoly. Not too long ago I did a stock analysis about Wolters Kluwer and I definitely recommend giving it a read.
Like DSM, Wolters Kluwer is also such a company that I regret not buying earlier. It is benefiting from a strong secular growth trend called Data Science and the Cloud. Unfortunately, I missed out on that.
The company is currently trading at a 34 PE which is way too much for a company like this. Hence, I keep having my fingers crossed for it to come down during the next market downturn.
30 years of dividend growth seems worth the wait for this exemplary European dividend aristocrat! Hence, it definitely deserves a strong call-out in this list of Dutch dividend stocks 👌
Read more: Wolters Kluwer dividend safety, stock analysis
15. Royal Dutch Shell
| Dividend Yield | 3.57% | Dividend Per Share | $0.96 |
| Years Dividend Growth / Remain | 1 | Sector | Energy |
| 5 Year Average Dividend Growth | #N/A | FCF Payout Ratio | 29% |
Royal Dutch Shell (AMS:SHELL | ISIN: GB00B03MLX29) is one of the big 5 Oil & Gas producers in the energy sector. I don’t think that this company requires a lot of introduction in the dividend investing community.
But maybe you wonder why I added Shell to this list? Well, the reason is simple: Shell is very much committed to shareholder returns and rising dividends.
However, we also know that they cut their dividend early in 2020 and this came to many as a surprise. I see it as a great dividend reset.
The oil crisis in 2016 took quite a heavy toll on Shell’s balance sheet and the 2020 pandemic crash came just a bit too early. Let’s also not forget that Shell didn’t cut it’s dividend up till then since the 2nd world war.
Fast forward until today and we have observed already a decent dividend hike mid-year including a commitment to a 4% annual dividend growth. In the meantime their balance sheet has become one of the strongest in the industry which positions them well for the future.
One of the other tailwinds is the Dutch ruling which requires Shell to oblige to climate change goals. In my opinion, this has already accelerated their efforts into new business models.
Though, it’s still a minor fraction of the capital expenditures and time will have to tell if it can generate a positive ROI. In my mind, it has yet to be proven that Oil & Gas companies can transform into equally profitable businesses.
Having said that, Shell is one of the largest positions in my portfolio together with Ahold Delhaize from this list. I might consider rounding up my full position size during the next downturn with these juicy high dividend shares.
Read more:
– Shell’s dividend cut. What to do now?
– Big oil is back! Which stocks to buy?
👉 Live Dutch Dividend Stocks data from this article
Some of the information in this article might quickly get out of date due to changing share prices. Hence, I would like to make it a bit easier for you to also share all the data in the below google sheet.
However, please note that dividend per share data still requires manual modification from me. Please just mention it in the comments if you notice that something is out of date and I will fix it as soon as possible.
💎 Interesting Statistic
I’m a big fan of the Chowder Rule which could be seen as a valuation metric for dividend growth investors.
The interesting fact is that a basket of 15 Dutch dividend stocks would give you a Chowder score of 15.11% (29-Dec-21). It is a combination of a 2.7% dividend yield and a 10.79% average dividend growth.
This is not so common and it might actually provide better value than the regular European dividend ETF. Hence, if you would like to own a bit of all of these companies then you could consider creating your own Trading 212 Pie.
It’s an easy way of creating a basket of stocks for low costs. You can also automate your investments so that you could use a dollar-cost-averaging strategy by investing on a monthly basis.
I’m using this approach already for the Noble 30 index and I might consider creating a similar Dutch dividend stocks pie.
Final Thoughts about these Dutch dividend stocks
The Netherlands is not just an interesting country due to its favorable Dividend withholding tax. Look at these 15 Dutch dividend stocks in this list. There probably already one or more of these stocks attractively valued right now.
However, It doesn’t mean that these are buy recommendations or stocks that I would recommend to everyone’s portfolio. I just firmly believe that it’s good for us as European dividend growth investors to keep an eye on what’s available in the market.
Because as you know, a lot of money can also be made by diversifying yourself into some lessor known dividend stocks.
Having said all of this, I would like to give a special shout-out to Allan. He’s one of my Twitter buddies who is strongly engaged but also a strong introvert.
That’s why he prefers to operate in the background, but I couldn’t have written this post without his support in supplying me with a lot of data. That’s why I would like to give some special thanks to him 🙏 I couldn’t have done it without you my friend!
Before you go I wanted to ask you for one small favor.
This post took me quite some time to prepare and to write, because European dividend data requires manual verification via annual reports. Unfortunately even Bloomberg’s data which costs a fortune is very unreliable.
Hence, if you like the outcome of my effort, then may I ask you to share this post on your favorite social media? Or maybe a subtle backlink in case you are a fellow blogger?
Every little bit helps and it might give my work a little bit more exposure 🙏
With much respect, I’m wishing you a wonderful remainder of 2022,
Yours Truly,
European Dividend Growth Investor.
Disclosure: I own shares in Ahold Delhaize, Philips and Royal Dutch Shell as part of the this Dutch dividend stocks list.
