text: July 17, 2018, 10:36:00 AM EDT By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos, John Bromels, and Rich Duprey, Motley Fool
  Below, Motley Fool investors place the spotlight on three such stocks. British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) , Verizon (NYSE: VZ) , and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) , each pay over 4% in annual yield and could make attractive buys today.
  Cigarette smoking, of course, is in the midst of a secular decline, and the industry is taking pains to devise ways to prolong their existence. but the latest technology could be a way both smokers and tobacco companies profit.
  John Bromels (Royal Dutch Shell): The integrated oil majors have always paid high dividends, and Royal Dutch Shell is no exception. But Shell is currently yielding about 5.44%, the highest among its oil major peers (although BP 's 5.38% yield comes awfully close).
  What may surprise you is that Shell's yield is actually down significantly from a year ago, when it topped 7%. That was thanks to oil prices , which seemed stubbornly stuck around $50/barrel: just enough for the oil majors to eke out a small profit thanks to their refining and marketing operations. Today, with oil prices topping $70/barrel, things are looking a lot more rosy for the industry -- and especially for Shell.
  Shell's cost-cutting during the oil price slump now has it sitting pretty, as its most recent quarter , Q1 2018, attests. Quarterly revenue grew by 24.2% year over year, to $89.2 billion, while quarterly net earnings were up an impressive 66.7% over the prior year.
  Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Bromels owns shares of Verizon Communications. Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .