ClearBridge's Clarfeld Backs 3 Dividend Stocks as S&P 500 Holds Near 7,799
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 24
ClearBridge's Clarfeld Backs 3 Dividend Stocks as S&P 500 Holds Near 7,799
1 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 24
Summary
Michael Clarfeld said investors fixated on AI are missing dividend-paying "overlooked gems," highlighting Williams Companies, Unilever and ADP as attractive diversification plays.
The call comes as a narrow, mega-cap tech-led market keeps the S&P 500 near records—7,798.99 on Aug. 13—even after a volatile summer driven by AI spending swings and a 30-year Treasury yield that hit a 19-year high last week.
Williams, yielding 2.98%, is Clarfeld's favored "pedestrian" pick because rising natural-gas infrastructure demand and data-center power needs support long-term earnings and cash-flow growth; the stock is up about 18% this year.
Unilever, with a 3.46% yield, stands out for robust organic volume growth in a tough consumer-staples market, while ADP yields 2.42% and is seen as relatively insulated from AI disruption because payroll processing remains mission-critical.
Clarfeld is not calling for an immediate exit from tech, but argues that historically narrow momentum markets often give way to broader participation, a backdrop in which dividend-growth portfolios tend to perform better.