Bill Gates the co-founder of Microsoft has been actively involved in investing for change to lessen the impact of climate change. Gates is doing this by investing in companies such as Quantumscape (NYSE:QS), whose objective is to develop solid state batteries for electric vehicles.

Another ESG investment the Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder has made is his recent backing of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL), which produces and markets cleaning and sanitation products for the hospitality, healthcare, and industrial markets.

Here are three dividend stocks Gates owns to hedge against the risk of recession.

See Also: Bill Gates' Patented Machine Aims To Stop Hurricanes

• Canadian National Railway Co. (NYSE:CNI) is offering a dividend yield of 2.67% or $2.92 per share annually, using quarterly payments, with an inconsistent track record of raising its dividends. Canadian National Railway spans Canada from coast to coast and extends through Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico, and in 2019, it delivered almost 6 million carloads over its 19,600 miles of track. Under its current Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB), the company may repurchase up to 42 million common shares between Feb. 1, 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023. As at June 30, 2022, the Canadian National had repurchased 15.2 million common shares for roughly $2.3 billion under its current NCIB.
• Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is offering a dividend yield of 1.71% or $2.24 per share annually, making quarterly payments, with an aristocratic e track record of increasing its dividends for 48 consecutive years. Walmart operated over 10,500 stores under 46 banners at the end of fiscal 2022, selling a variety of general merchandise and grocery items. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company repurchased about 26 million shares in the second quarter of fiscal 2023, and has $4.9 billion remaining of its $20 billion authorization program approved in February 2021. Walmart's subsidiary Sam's Club membership income increased by 8.9%, as its member count is at an all-time high, in the second quarter of 2023.
• Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM) is offering a dividend yield of 1.61% or $2.60 per share annually, through quarterly payments, with a stellar track record of increasing its dividends for 18 consecutive years. The Houston-based company ranks as the largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste services in the U.S., operating approximately 260 active landfills and about 340 transfer stations, as of 2022. Waste Management expects to repurchase an additional $980 million of its common stock in 2022, exhausting the full $1.5 billion of share repurchase authorization previously announced.

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