While a volatile market continues to keep some investors on the sidelines, if you're putting your money into wonderful businesses in both good times and bad, you can prime your portfolio for more consistent returns over the long term. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has a lengthy history of delivering returns to shareholders over a wide range of markets and economic environments through its faithful dividend payments. The last five years alone have seen J&J's dividend jump by more than 25%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) (DJIA) is a composite of 30 prominent, blue chip companies. Visa (NYSE: V) is a top Dow stock that is trading at a bargain price today, and it's an excellent choice to bolster a portfolio. Visa has been around in some form since 1958, when Bank of America rolled it out as the first consumer credit card program in the U.S. Since then, it has become the premier credit card globally, with 4.1 billion cards worldwide, more than 80 million merchant locations, and more than $14 trillion in processing volume during the past year.
MasterCard (MA) closed at $351.03 in the latest trading session, marking a -1% move from the prior day.