Over long periods, dividend stocks tend to outperform their non-dividend-paying counterparts. There are likely several reasons for this, one of which is that sustaining a dividend program requires a solid underlying business. So corporations that are able to consistently pay dividends and raise their payouts tend to have other things going their way. That makes these stocks great targets for investors focused on the long game.

And with that in mind, let's consider two dividend stocks worth holding onto now: (NYSE: ABBV) and Visa (NYSE: V).

AbbVie's dividend profile looks great on paper. It's a Dividend King with 52 consecutive years of payout hikes -- if you include the time it spent as a unit of Abbott Laboratories. AbbVie's yield at its current share price is 4.48%, compared to the S 500's average of 1.62%. Since its spinoff as an independent entity in January 2013, the drugmaker has raised its dividend by an impressive 288%.

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Source Fool.com