Passive income investors dream of finding companies that can pay reliable and growing dividends while also beating the market. A company must grow its earnings to distribute more money to shareholders over time. To grow earnings, the business has to be in good financial shape and navigate economic cycles to raise its dividend even if earnings growth languishes.

WM (NYSE: WM), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), and Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) are three businesses that generate near-record-high earnings and use the dividend as an important way to reward patient shareholders.

Three Motley Fool contributors were asked to highlight dividend stocks that outperformed the major indexes over the last three years (based on total return) and are worth buying now. Here's what they came up with.

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Source Fool.com