2013 Dividend Aristocrats

The Dividend Aristocrats list is an excellent starting point for dividend growth investors to begin their research.  In order to make this list a company needs to be in the S&P 500 (top 500 publicly listed companies by market capitalization) AND it needs to have increased its dividend payout for at least 25 consecutive years. You won't find the likes of Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), or General Electric (GE) on this list as they have yet to prove themselves worthy.  Actually, GE was on the list until it had to cut its dividend in 2009.

These are the elite dividend payers, the cream of the crop. Investors who have been fortunate enough to hold these companies over the long-term are significantly wealthier and will likely be enjoying future dividend increases yet again this year.

There are three new inductees to this prestigious club in 2013 thanks to their 25th consecutive dividend increase.

Chevron (CVX ) - A global integrated oil company with interests in exploration, production, refining and marketing, and petrochemicals. Current yield: 3.1%

Cardinal Health (CAH)- A leading wholesale distributors of pharmaceuticals, medical/surgical supplies and related products to a broad range of health care customers. Current yield: 2.5%

Pentair (PNR) - A diversified industrial manufacturing company specializing in water and fluid controls. Current yield: 1.8%

Here is the entire list for 2013. I would encourage dividend growth investors, no matter how much or little experience you have, to use this list as a starting point for your research. These companies have already proven they are dedicated to rewarding their shareholders with an increasing dividend payout. Their dividend culture is established and something they are likely proud of, so it would take a significant economic event for them to change their ways. Just keep in mind that just because a company is listed here doesn't mean that its a good buy at current prices.

2013 Dividend Aristocrats
TICKER	COMPANY	SECTOR
ABBV	AbbVie Inc.	Health Care
ABT	Abbott Laboratories	Health Care
ADM	Archer-Daniels-Midland	Consumer Staples
ADP	Automatic Data Proc	Information Technology
AFL	AFLAC Inc	Financials
APD	Air Products & Chemicals	Materials
BCR	Bard (C.R.)	Health Care
BDX	Becton, Dickinson	Health Care
BEN	Franklin Resources	Financials
BF.B	Brown-Forman'B'	Consumer Staples
BMS	Bemis Co	Materials
CAH	Cardinal Health Inc	Health Care
CB	Chubb Corp	Financials
CINF	Cincinnati Financial	Financials
CL	Colgate-Palmolive	Consumer Staples
CLX	Clorox Co	Consumer Staples
CTAS	Cintas Corp	Industrials
CVX	Chevron Corp	Energy
DOV	Dover Corp	Industrials
ECL	Ecolab Inc	Materials
ED	Consolidated Edison	Utilities
EMR	Emerson Electric	Industrials
FDO	Family Dollar Stores	Consumer Discretionary
GPC	Genuine Parts	Consumer Discretionary
GWW	Grainger (W.W.)	Industrials
HCP	HCP Inc	Financials
HRL	Hormel Foods	Consumer Staples
ITW	Illinois Tool Works	Industrials
JNJ	Johnson & Johnson	Health Care
KMB	Kimberly-Clark	Consumer Staples
KO	Coca-Cola Co	Consumer Staples
LEG	Leggett & Platt	Consumer Discretionary
LOW	Lowe's Cos	Consumer Discretionary
MCD	McDonald's Corp	Consumer Discretionary
MDT	Medtronic, Inc	Health Care
MHP	McGraw-Hill Companies	Consumer Discretionary
MKC	McCormick & Co	Consumer Staples
MMM	3M Co	Industrials
NUE	Nucor Corp	Materials
PEP	PepsiCo Inc	Consumer Staples
PG	Procter & Gamble	Consumer Staples
PNR	Pentair Ltd.	Industrials
PPG	PPG Indus	Materials
SHW	Sherwin-Williams	Materials
SIAL	Sigma-Aldrich	Materials
SWK	Stanley Black & Decker	Consumer Discretionary
SYY	Sysco Corp	Consumer Staples
T	AT&T	Telecommunication Services
TGT	Target Corp	Consumer Discretionary
TROW	T.Rowe Price Group	Financials
VFC	VF Corp	Consumer Discretionary
WAG	Walgreen Co	Consumer Staples
WMT	Wal-Mart Stores	Consumer Staples
XOM	Exxon Mobil	Energy

Disclosure: I am long ABBV, ABT, AFL, KMB, MCD, and WMT