Since Altria spun off Phillip Morris International , its stock is yielding a whopping 13.3%. There are now five S&P 500 Companies with yields over 10%, most of which are beaten up Financials. Dividend Yield is defined as annual dividends divided by share price.
As I mentioned in my last comment on dividends, some of these high yields are not sustainable. For example, Bear Stearns is number four on the list with a whopping 12% yield. JP Morgan Chase's takeover of Bear will put an end to that. Currently JPM has a yield of ~3.2%.
Here are the top 20 yielding stocks of the S&P 500.
Christine Benz, Morningstar's Director of Personal Finance, recently pointed out that investors should look for dividend paying stocks. However, she suggested stocks with yields over 7% require a lot of homework because they could represent troubled companies.
Data Source: Thomson Reuters