Dividend stocks usually make payments every quarter -- but that doesn't mean you can't invest in a way that lets you receive cash from your income-generating investments every month. if you invest in stocks that pay at different times during the quarter, the dividend income can continue to flow into your portfolio each month of the year.

Three stocks that pay more than the S&P 500 average, stagger their payouts, and could be great buys right now are Merck (NYSE: MRK), General Mills (NYSE: GIS), and Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Let's find out a bit more about these three dividend stocks.

Merck is a top drugmaker, known for its popular cancer-fighting drug Keytruda. Over the trailing 12 months, the healthcare company reported profits of $15.3 billion on revenue of just under $59 billion, for an impressive net margin of 26%. While investors may be concerned about Keytruda losing patent protection later this decade, Merck has 30 phase-three trials ongoing that could lead to many potential revenue-generating products in the long run.

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Source Fool.com