The best dividend stocks can have a tough time keeping pace with a rip-roaring, growth-fueled bull market. After all, the whole idea of a dividend is to pass along a portion of profits directly to shareholders instead of reinvesting them in the business.

Naturally, dividend-paying companies tend to be lower growth. But Walmart (NYSE: WMT), (NYSE: TGT), Procter Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) have not only paid and raised their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years -- making them Dividend Kings -- but all four stocks are also beating the S 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes year to date.

Here's what's going right for each company and whether they are worth buying now.

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Source Fool.com