There are two main ways to make money from stocks: price appreciation and dividends. The former is the most straightforward, but the latter can be a significant part of investors' total returns.

On the surface, it makes sense that dividend-seeking investors would naturally go for the companies offering the highest dividend yields, but a company's dividend yield by itself doesn't tell the full story. Other business factors should be considered.

Below are the S&P 500's three highest-paying dividend stocks currently. Of course, dividend yields change as stock prices change. However, all three are routinely some of the S&P 500's highest yielding stocks. So does that make them good investments? Let's take a look.

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Source Fool.com