Amid the economic slowdown, five US stocks are expected to have high dividend growth.

With the US Q1 GDP slowing to 1.1%, concerns about an economic recession are increasing.

Defensive sectors such as consumer staples have risen recently, up 4.5% in the past three months.

But there is another way to strengthen your investment portfolio: own stocks with growing dividends.

Combining S&P Global Market Intelligence and Barron's, the following five US stocks are expected to have double-digit dividend growth: Goldman Sachs (GS), Kroger (KR), Sherwin-Williams (SHW), Target (TGT), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH).

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs' performance this year has been weaker than the market, partly due to the cyclical slowdown in trading and investment banking.

Investors have not paid too much for the recovery, based on a 10x expected earnings in 2023.

Goldman Sachs said in its April earnings conference call that it plans to "continue to focus on sustainably increasing our dividend."

S&P expects Goldman Sachs' quarterly dividend in July to increase from $2.50 per share to $3 per share, a 20% increase. The stock is currently trading at around $340, with a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Kroger

Grocery chain Kroger is preparing to merge with Albertsons for $25 billion, expected to be completed in early 2024.

Assuming regulators do not block the deal, the merged grocery giant should be able to compete more effectively with Walmart and other large chain supermarkets.

Kroger is expected to raise its quarterly dividend from 26 cents per share to 30 cents per share later this year. The stock's dividend yield is only 2.2% based on a recent price of around $48, but the stock has risen 8% this year.

Sherwin-Williams

As the real estate market slows down, paint and coating company Sherwin-Williams has struggled, with its stock price falling nearly 33% last year and 3% this year.

Based on a recent price of around $228, the stock's dividend yield is only 1.2%.

However, according to S&P data, Sherwin-Williams is expected to have flat sales growth this year, improved profit margins in the first quarter, and dividends that seem to be on the rise, with dividends expected to grow 16% to 70 cents per share this year.

Target

Target fell 36% in 2022 due to a significant reduction in earnings.

However, it is widely estimated that profits are expected to grow by more than 23% annually from now until 2023 and 2024.

This should give the retailer enough security to raise its dividend and continue its 51 consecutive annual growth.

S&P expects Target to raise its quarterly dividend by 13% to $1.22 per share in June, with a dividend yield of 2.8%.

UnitedHealth

UnitedHealth is a vertically integrated giant.

This year's stock price has fallen by 8%, but profits are rising, and are expected to grow by around 13% in 2023 and 2024.

S&P expects its quarterly dividend to grow by 21% to $2 per share this year, with a dividend yield of about 1.6%.

It may not generate huge returns, but even if the economy is really bad, the demand for healthcare will not weaken.