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iShares Select Dividend ETF (Nasdaq: DVY) has quietly rewarded income investors with a 21.05% gain over the last year, without losing a single share. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR | pltr price prediction), the most attractive momentum stock on the market. That absence is inherent in the fund’s design.
What exactly is DVY?
DVY is a dividend-screened equity fund operated by iShares that targets established US companies with consistent payout histories. As of April 30, 2026, the fund held 104 positions and recorded net assets of $22.86 billion. The current expense ratio was not disclosed in the fund’s latest Enport snapshot.
Performance has been steady rather than spectacular. DVY is up 1.33% over the past week, 3.57% over the past month, and 14.48% year to date. Zoom out and the picture appears: 62.4% in five years and 166.59% in ten years.
why is it up
This rally has been driven by non-glamorous income stocks. The top ten holdings as of April 30, 2026 read like the Dividend Hall of Fame:
- Altria Group (MO): 2.291%
- Pfizer (PFE): 2.216%
- T. Rowe Price Group (TROW): 2.023%
- Verizon Communications (VZ): 1.847%
- Prudential Financial (PRU): 1.843%
- OneOK (OK): 1.831%
- Edison International (EIX): 1.534%
- LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): 1.527%
- General Mills (GIS): 1.519%
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB): 1.513%
The tilt of the sector also tells the same story. DVY bends heavily regulated utilities (Dominion, Exelon, NextEra, DTE, AEP, Exel, WEC and more), regional banks (Huntington, Fifth Third, KeyCorp, US Bancorp, Truist), energy pipelines and majors (OneOke, Chevron, EOG, Exxon), and consumer staples (Altria, Philip Morris, Kimberly-Clark, General Mills). Large utility and telecom weights, combined with a rotation back into value names, have driven the fund higher.
palantir absence
It has been confirmed to be absent from Palantir’s portfolio. The Nport filing dated April 30, 2026 shows PLTR holding 0 shares on DVY’s 104 positions.
The reason is structural. DVY’s index screens for dividend-paying equities, and Palantir has never paid a dividend. Alpha Vantage lists Palantir’s dividend per share and dividend yield as None, with no dividend or ex-dividend date on record. A stock that doesn’t pay anything can’t enter a fund built around a cash-return history. This exclusion is fixed, and will not apply to the next rebalancing.
The valuation profile confirms this. Palantir trades at a Trailing P/E of approximately 131 and a price-to-sales ratio of 53.54, which is well outside the value and yield zone DVY targets.
Contrast in returns
Investors who assumed they needed Palantir to keep pace with the market may be surprised by the year’s scoreboard. Despite a 20.54% weekly surge, Palantir shares are down 27.26% year to date and 2.13% in the last 12 months. Over the same one-year period, DVY quietly delivered 21.05%.
Funds that own Palantir, particularly tech-heavy or momentum ETFs, have had a different journey. DVY’s concentration risk sits elsewhere: in rate-sensitive utilities, regional banks exposed to the credit cycle, and tobacco and pharma names facing regulatory scrutiny. Investors get income and low valuations, but they also leave investments in whatever the next AI-fueled rally looks like.
takeaway
DVY offers exactly what it advertises: a diverse basket of established US dividend payers, with the largest single position being Altria, at just 2.291% of net assets. That structure has delivered solid returns over the past year without the help of the market’s most popular ticker. Whether that compromise fits depends on why the investor is buying. Income seekers get a sustainable mandate; Those chasing growth will need to look elsewhere.
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