Would you like to build a market-beating stock portfolio? There are all kinds of ways to go about it, but none are more reliable than buying dividend-paying stocks. From 1973 through 2021, dividend-paying stocks delivered a 9.6% average annual return compared with just 8.2% for the S&P 500 index as a whole, according to research from Hartford Funds.

The apparent advantage dividend-paying stocks have over the broad market becomes even stronger when we cherry-pick dividend growers. These three companies are committed to distributing a portion of their profits and raising their payouts year after year. These stocks are so good at raising their payouts that the average analyst thinks they can rise sharply in the year ahead. 

Shares of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) have fallen nearly 10% in 2022, but Wall Street analysts expect a strong rebound in 2023. The consensus price target on this healthcare giant is 26% above its recent price, suggesting a market rally in 2023.

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Source Fool.com