First Quarter 2013: Top And Bottom Performing Dividend Stocks

Investing in dividend growth stocks is a long-term proposition. One of the beauties of following a dividend growth strategy is that you don't have to watch your portfolio or the market on a daily basis. For the most part, daily, monthly and yearly movements are just noise in the system.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Microsoft, the world's largest software company, develops PC software, including the Windows operating system and the Office application suite.

Weekly Links: April 28, 2013

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al. Below are the carnivals that I participated in this week, along with a link to my article:

4 Big-Name Stocks With Double-Digit Dividend Increases

To succeed as a dividend growth investor you must identify and purchase stocks with sustainable dividend growth. Inertia is powerful force. Once a company has established a track record of growing its dividend over the decades and developed a shareholder base that expects higher dividends each year, it becomes increasing difficult for management to cut or fail to raise their dividend. No CEO of this type of company wants a dividend cut to occur on his or her watch.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Genuine Parts Company (GPC). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Genuine Parts Co is a leading wholesale distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and supplies, and office products.

A Disciplined Approach To Dividend Stocks

Those that have read this space for any period of time are well aware of my enthusiasm for using dividend growth stocks as a vehicle for building long-term wealth and income. However, with that said, a successful investor must do more than just buy stocks that pay a growing dividend, or do more that focusing on a single metric such as dividend yield. Not all dividend stocks are created equal - there is a discipline to selecting good dividend growth stocks.