5% yield! 6% yield! 7% yield! 3 UK shares I’d buy today

Owning dividend stocks can be an easy way to increase your passive income stream. Here are a trio of UK stocks that yield at least 5%, all of which I would buy for my current portfolio if I had spare funds to invest.

All pay dividends monthly, although none are guaranteed.

5% + yield: Assura

health employer Assura (LSE: AGR) has built a long-term cash-generating machine. It focuses on building, buying and leasing properties for medical care providers such as doctors’ surgeries and ambulance depots.

Not only do I expect demand for the space to be resilient, I like the low risk profile of the tenant base. No tenant is guaranteed to pay the rent, but taxpayer-funded health care providers seem less likely to default than commercial tenants.

That helps the company fund its monthly dividend. It has raised its payments every year in the past few years. The stock currently yields 5.9%.

But if Assura is so attractive, why are its shares down 18% over the past year?

I think investors are nervous that rising interest rates could hurt profits. Assura ended last year with net debt of £1.1bn. I see falling prices as an attractive buying opportunity for my portfolio.

6% yield: European Assets Trust

Many UK stocks have been low for several months since October. Could the economic recovery also improve the outlook for our mainland European friends?

I can. European Assets Trust (LSE: EAT) gives me exposure to small and medium-sized companies on the Continent. Not only does it mean I can get multiple exposures to different European markets, I think it helps me benefit from the growth prospects of medium-sized companies when the economic engine starts humming again.

Despite last month’s dividend cut, the investment trust still has a 6% yield outlook.

Why would I invest in a company that only cuts dividends? The trust’s policy is to aim to pay 6% of its net asset value annually as dividends in the next 12 months. So while a falling stock market may lead to more pay cuts, the opposite is also true. A strong performance this year by investee companies could result in bigger dividends in 2024.

7% + yield: British American Tobacco

With a dividend yield of 7.2%, British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) has been paying passive income thanks to existing shareholdings – but I’d like to receive more.

In fact, I should have accepted it sooner, without lifting a finger. Yesterday the company announced a 6% increase in its annual dividend.

As the results show, revenue is increasing, cash flow remains strong and the company’s non-tobacco business is growing very fast. However, the business remains heavily dependent on tobacco. The non-tobacco business is still unprofitable and will not be able to achieve the margins produced by cigarettes, which are cheap to produce. The long-term decline in cigarette smoking poses a risk to profits – and profits.

So far, I think the company has managed this long-standing risk very well. Yesterday’s increase was just the latest in more than two decades of annual dividend increases.