Turn to dividend growth stocks to cushion your portfolio in a selloff, Trivariate Research says

In turbulent markets, turn to companies with solid dividend growth to provide your portfolio with some downside protection, according to Trivariate Research. The major averages slid on Tuesday, with the S & P 500 heading for a third losing session as bond yields surged. The rate on the 10-year Treasury note touched its highest level since early 2025 and was last seen trading above 4.6%. "Historically, when investors wanted to get defensive within their equity portfolios, they looked for more predictable revenue streams," wrote Trivariate founder Adam Parker in a recent report. Those investors would buy up pharmaceuticals, telecoms, consumer staples or utilities for that exposure. However, the search for those defensive plays is changing. "One major challenge today is that this traditional defensive part of the market has never been smaller," Parker added. He said that while those defensive corners of the market represented nearly 30% of the S & P 500's market capitalization 25 years ago, today they're just over 10%. To that end, Trivariate sought stocks that have demonstrated consistent dividend growth over at least the past five years and that are indicated to continue growing those payments. These stocks also have forecasted sales growth of at least 7% and anticipated earnings growth of 10%. Here are a few names that made the cut. Pest control company Rollins showed up on Trivariate's list. …