BAC is a dividend aristocrat as well as a major component of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials indexes. The company has been increasing its dividends for the past 30 consecutive years. From 1998 up until July 2008 this dividend growth stock has delivered an annual average total return of 3.60 % to its shareholders. Despite the 60% recent jump in the share price, the stock is down almost 26% since the start of the year.