When considering a dividend stock, it's well worth looking at how long it's been providing its payouts. While the past doesn't predict the future, a company that has a strong track record -- and whose prospects still look promising -- can make for a better investment than a business without a long history of paying dividends. Stocks that pay dividends over a long period often like to boast about their track records, and it gives them incentive to extend the streak further. Plus, it demonstrates to investors the resiliency of the business's operations.

Three stocks that have been making payments for decades and which look like incredibly safe dividend investments today include Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has been a red-hot growth stock this year with its shares rising by more than 50%. Excitement surrounding some of its drugs, including Mounjaro, which may prove to be the best weight-loss drug ever (with peak annual sales potentially as high as $68 billion), is just one example of why investors see tremendous upside for the business in the long run.

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Source Fool.com