3 Top Dividend Stocks to Buy in January

This past year was a surprisingly good one for dividend investors. While hundreds of companies slashed or suspended their payouts due to the pandemic, 2020 was a record year for dividend payments to investors for stocks in the S&P 500 as they rose 0.7% above 2019's record level.

Meanwhile, 2021 appears poised to be an even better year for dividend growth as forecasters expect that companies in the S&P 500 will give their investors an even bigger raise in the coming year.

While lots of stocks pay growing dividends, three that stand out as top buys this month are water utility American Water Works (NYSE: AWK), global infrastructure operator Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP)(NYSE: BIPC), and diversified real estate investment trust (REIT) W.P. Carey (NYSE: WPC).