Dividend Aristocrats, or S&P 500 members that increase their dividend for 25 consecutive years, typically make great long-term investments. A company must establish itself to get into the S&P 500 and be increasingly profitable to afford all those payout raises.

Technology conglomerate Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) often gets overlooked by dividend investors, who lump it into the growth sector instead. However, here are three reasons Microsoft could be one of the market's great dividend payers.

Dividends are cash expenses that a company pays directly to shareholders; they can't be manipulated with accounting adjustments or supported with debt over the long term. Not only does it take a robust business model to afford a dividend that grows each year, but it also becomes a part of the company's culture.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com