If you are looking to generate additional income or balance out your portfolio with some great dividend-paying stocks, there are many excellent options to choose from among the stocks in the S 500. You could work from the list of stocks that have increased their annual dividends for at least 25 straight years. There are about 65 of them, at last count. 

Or you could go right to the S 500 and pick the stocks with the five highest dividend yields. But the highest-yielding dividend stocks are not always the best investments. Here's why -- along with a recommendation for a better option.

The stocks that currently have the highest dividend yields on the S 500 are Altria Group (NYSE: MO) (8.2%); V.F. Corp (NYSE: VFC) (6.9%); Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) (6.3% each); and Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) (6.1%).

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Source Fool.com