One of the highest honors among dividend stocks is to be a dividend Aristocrat®, which requires 25 consecutive years or more in annual increases. The title dividend Aristocrat is such a big deal that the term is a registered trademark of Standard Poor's Financial Services LLC.

This highly elite list of companies is a great starting point for dividend investors, with these three stocks looking like some of the best buys you can make right now.

Medical device maker (NYSE: MDT) has increased its dividend annually for 48 consecutive years. The yield today is around 3.1%, well above the skinny 1.2% yield on offer from the S 500 index and notably higher than the average healthcare stock's 1.8%. Medtronic's dividend yield is also historically high, suggesting the stock is cheap today.

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Source Fool.com