Owning a diversified portfolio of high-quality dividend stocks is a great way for investors to minimize risk and build a reliable stream of passive income. But to build a high-performance dividend portfolio with set-it-and-forget-it characteristics, investors still have to be selective.

At their current share prices, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) have an average yield of 4.6%, so investing $11,000 evenly between them would net you passive income of more than $500 annually. Even better, there's a good chance that both of these industry-leading companies will continue to increase their payouts each year.

If you're aiming to build up your passive income stream, two Motley Fool contributors believe that investing in these top dividend stocks would be a smart move.

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Source Fool.com