Top Wall Street analysts are bullish on these dividend stocks

In tumultuous markets, investors can turn to dividend-paying stocks that offer income and can help cushion a portfolio in tough times.

Given the massive universe of dividend-paying companies, selecting the right stocks can be a difficult task. To that end, investors can track the recommendations of Wall Street experts, who conduct a thorough analysis of a company's earnings growth potential and dividend history.    

Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street's top pros on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

This week's first dividend pick is tech giant IBM (IBM), which announced mixed first-quarter results. The company's earnings exceeded expectations while revenue missed estimates amid an uncertain macro backdrop. Also, IBM announced a $6.4 billion acquisition of cloud software maker HashiCorp.

IBM paid dividends of $1.5 billion in the first quarter. The company generated free cash flow of $1.9 billion in Q1 2024 and expects to deliver free cash flow of about $12 billion in the full year. IBM's yield stands at about 4%.  

Recently, Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani reiterated a buy rating on IBM stock with a price target of $215. The analyst is positive about the company's growth levers and expects it to benefit from several tailwinds, including generative artificial intelligence and the acceleration of consulting revenue.

"IBM sounded confident on their ability to see revenues accelerate in H2 on the consulting side from the 2% growth in Q1," said Daryanani.

While the consulting business in Q1 2024 was hit by the impact of macro challenges on discretionary spending, the analyst noted that there are many catalysts that hint at increased growth going forward. These