Dividend stocks can get a bad reputation as boring investments with the companies behind them on the downslope of the business cycle. But the numbers say boring is a winning investing strategy.

Specifically, going back to 1960, 69% of the total return of the S 500's roughly 40,000% increase can be attributed to reinvested dividends compounding, according to research by Hartford Funds.

Considering that, let's examine a few leading dividend-paying stocks at or close to their 52-week highs to determine whether it's worth investors doubling up or waiting for a price decline.

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Source Fool.com