Dividend shares seem to be very popular right now. AJ Bell‘s latest ‘Top Buys’ list shows three such companies occupying the top five slots. With inflation on the rise and many growth stocks trading at frothy valuations, this makes some sense.

What’s interesting is that they all come from the same part of the market.

Dividend shares in demand

In fifth place on AJ Bell’s list is Barclays. Initially, this looks like quite an odd choice. The share price is down 12% in 2026 due to results missing analysts’ expectations. However, I wonder if investors believe this now makes the bank a bargain. After all, the dividend stream has been growing in recent years as a result of rising earnings.

Three spaces above Barclays and in second place is savings and investments firm M&G. Like the bank, it’s been growing its distributions consistently, if only modestly. The yield here’s a chunky 6.7%.

But as popular as they’ve been in the last week, demand for these stocks pales in comparison to another FTSE 100 juggernaut. Insurance and retirement giant Aviva (LSE: AV.) is currently top of the pops. It’s not hard to see why.

Great yield

From an income perspective, the £21bn-cap scores well. As I type, the dividend yield sits at 5.8% for 2026. That’s slightly below that of M&G, but it’s still a lot higher than the 3.1% average in the top tier.

Of course, a high yield is all well and good. But I also want to see evidence this is growing.

Aviva ticks this box too. We’ve seen consecutive annual hikes to the total dividend for quite a few years. Analysts are already anticipating another 7% bump to the distribution in 2027.

What’s gone so right at Aviva?

The fact that Aviva has been able to return more cash to holders is mostly down to CEO Amanda Blanc’s strategy. Under her stewardship, this once-sprawling company has evolved into a streamlined beast concentrated on its core UK, Ireland and Canada markets. Profits have jumped.

As might be expected, this has done no harm to the share price either. Anyone buying a stake when the pandemic first pushed us behind our doors would now be looking at a gain well above 200%.

With former rival Direct Line now acquired and being integrated, it’s hoped that Aviva will be able to save costs, take a greater portion of the insurance market and keep this share price motoring upwards.

Safety in numbers

How long these three stocks remain popular with investors is impossible to say. As far as Aviva is concerned, we know that insurance claims can be unpredictable. Intense competition for clients can also force the company to cut prices, impacting margins. So just because the dividend looks safe from a cut as things stand, there’s no guarantee this will always be the case.

So, while I think all of these are worth considering, I also reckon it makes sense to hold dividend shares from different parts of the market. This way, a wobble in one sector can hopefully be balanced out by stronger momentum in another.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of options out there for us.

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Paul Summers has no position in any of the shares mentioned.