All three major indexes dipped into bear territory last year, and many top companies saw their share prices sink. Your portfolio may have felt the pain, too. But there is a way to cushion the impact of a tough economy and market on your investments. And that's by following the lead of billionaire investor Warren Buffett and snapping up dividend stocks. They will offer you passive income even if the market is down -- and even if their particular shares are down.

The Oracle of Omaha, as he's often called, collected just north of $700 million from a single company last year. I'm talking about Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), a stock Buffett has held for more than three decades. Buffett considers it one of his favorite stocks -- for the strength of its dividend and the overall quality of the company and its earnings. Should you follow Buffett into this top dividend player? Let's find out.

I probably don't have to tell you that Coca-Cola is a beverage giant, selling its eponymous drink in more than 200 countries around the globe. But Coca-Cola isn't just about one beverage. The company actually is present across a wide variety of categories, from juices to coffee and water. As the world's largest nonalcoholic beverage maker, it owns more than 200 major brands including Minute Maid and Dasani.

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Source Fool.com