What a one-two punch for dividend investors!

Many of us worried that 2013 was going to be the beginning of the end; that Congress was going to send income investors to the mat with onerously higher taxes on dividends. But, as it turned out, many were spared, with the 15% level staying for most, and a small increase to 20% for individuals with income levels above $400,000 and families above $450,000.

In addition to that close shave, Wall Street followed up a special-dividend bonanza in last year’s Q4 with a huge spate of blue-chip payout increases for the first quarter of 2013. We’re talking a group of stocks that includes five Dow Jones components, and 14 Dependable Dividend Stocks — companies that have paid out and increased their quarterly checks for a minimum of 25 consecutive years!

Go ahead. Smile a little.

So, if you’re looking for large, more dependable companies that are increasingly using their cash to reward shareholders, this list of 50 blue-chip dividend stocks is a good place to start. Best of all: Several of the stocks listed here have yet to go ex-dividend, giving you time to get in before their first newly fattened payout.

Here’s a look at these 50 companies, including the new payout, the percentage increase, yield based on the end-of-quarter stock price, and payment and record dates:

3M (MMM)

New Payout	% increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record date
$0.635/share	8%	2.39%	March 12	Feb. 15

3M (NYSE:MMM) — the maker of Post-It notes and hundreds of other household products that make our everyday lives just a little more convenient — has been one of the best double-threat Dow components of 2013. It has returned 15% year-to-date to top the S&P 500‘s breakneck run and set new all-time highs around $106 currently … and has continued to ratchet up its quarterly dividend to keep pace with its rocketing shares. As of the end of Q1, MMM was yielding a respectable 2.4%.

Agilent Technologies (A)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.12/share	20%	1.14%	April 25	April 3

Air Products & Chemicals (APD)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.71/share	11%	3.26%	May 13	April 1

Bank of Montreal (BMO)

new payout	% increase	Yield as of 3/29	payment date	record date
$0.74/share	2.7%	4.58%	May 28	May 1

Many of you might not know of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), even though it does have operations in the U.S.. However, if you’re in the dividend world, you should be well aware of the income-producing power of BMO. The company has been named a Top 25 dividend stock in the Canada Stock Channel ”DividendRank” report after yet again padding its payout this past quarter, offering a juicy 4.6% yield.

BB&T (BBT)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.23/share	15%	2.93%	March 1	Feb. 8

BlackRock (BLK)

New payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$1.68/share	12%	2.62%	March 25	March 7

Broadcom (BRCM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.11/share	10%	1.27%	March 4	Feb. 15

Chubb (CB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.44/share	7.3%	2.01%	April 2	March 15

Coca-Cola (KO)

new payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.28/share	10%	2.77%	April 1	March 15

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is the consummate dividend stock. It has boosted its dividend for half a century, it continues to provide reliable capital gains year after year, it’s a diversified business with operations in most of the world, and it’s a favorite of legendary value investor Warren Buffett. Finding fault with The Coca-Cola Co. is like trying to find fault with Coca-Cola.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.68/share	10%	2.30%	May 15	April 23

Comcast (CMCSA)

new payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.78/share	20%	1.86%	April 24	April 3

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) — cable operator and parent of NBCUniversal — and the rest of the media sector has been awfully kind to investors as of late. Comcast itself has improved a clean 40% over the past 52 weeks, and will enter Q2 with a slightly sweetened dividend.

Deere (DE)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.51/share	11%	2.37%	May 1	March 28

Devon Energy (DVN)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.22/share	10%	1.56%	June 28	June 14

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.38/share	12%	3.24%	April 5	March 15

Family Dollar (FDO)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.26/share	24%	1.76%	April 15	March 15

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.11/share	10%	2.70%	April 18	March 29

Ford (F)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.10/share	100%	3.04%	March 1	Jan. 30

That beeping sound is the dump trucks full of money backing into Ford (NYSE:F) shareholder driveways across the U.S. The automaker’s continued resurgence since summer of 2012 — that has included a 45% run-up in shares — led to a doubling of the company’s dividend in January, paid out for the first time at the beginning of this month.

Franklin Resources (BEN)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.29/share	7%	0.77%	April 12	March 28

General Dynamics (GD)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.56/share	10%	3.18%	May 10	April 12

General Mills (GIS)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.33/share	15%	2.68%	May 1	April 10

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) is one of the shining examples of how good times have been for consumer staples. The Minnesota-based maker of Cheerios — not to mention top name brands like Green Giant, Betty Crocker, Yoplait and Pillsbury — has cruised to all-time highs this year thanks to a 22% run. Now, shareholders will get a big boost in the quarterly payout come May.

Genuine Parts (GPC)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.5375/share	8.6%	2.76%	April 1	March 8

Goldcorp (GG)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.05/share	11%	1.78%	Jan. 25	Jan. 17

Halliburton (HAL)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.125/share	39%	1.24%	March 27	March 6

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.1452/share	10%	2.21%	TBA	TBA

You can’t really be too positive about Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). After all, the comp …

… oh wait. It’s 2013, not 2012. And — at least for now — it’s a whole new ballgame for the previously struggling tech giant. HPQ has rebounded from years of losses, including a 45% haircut in 2012, with a 67% run in Q1 2013 that has put it among the 10 best S&P 500 stocks for the quarter. Now, shareholders will have some extra income to go along with those big capital returns.

HollyFrontier (HFC)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.30/share	50%	2.33%	April 2	March 15

Hormel (HRL)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.17/share	13%	1.65%	Feb. 15	Jan. 22

Kansas City Southern (KSU)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.215/share	10%	0.78%	April 3	March 11

Kinder Morgan (KMI)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.37/share	19%	3.83%	Feb. 15	Jan. 31

Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.81/share	9.5%	3.31%	April 2	March 8

KKR (KKR)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.70/share	191.67%	6.31%	March 7	Feb. 14

Take a bow, KKR (NYSE:KKR) — you made what easily was one of the biggest dividend splashes of Q1. The global investment firm puffed its chest after improving earnings from $1.92 million in 2011 to $560 million in 2012, opting to nearly triple its dividend this past quarter. KKR now yields a mouth-watering 6%-plus.

Limited Brands (LTD)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.30/share	20%	2.69%	March 8	Feb. 22

Lorillard (LO)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.55/share	6.5%	5.45%	March 11	March 1

MasterCard (MA)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.60/share	100%	0.44%	May 9	April 9

Another big dividend splash came from the payment processor front, with credit card giant MasterCard (NYSE:MA) doubling its dividend to 60 cents quarterly. MasterCard, Visa (NYSE:V) and the rest of the industry’s big names have surged out of the Great Recession amid an explosion in global credit transactions, with MA itself posting an average of 40% gains annually in the past three years.

Mattel (MAT)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.36/share	16.1%	3.29%	March 8	Feb. 22

McGraw-Hill (MHP)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.28/share	9.8%	2.15%	March 12	Feb. 26

Nordstrom (JWN)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.30/share	11%	2.17%	March 22	March 11

Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.64/share	18.5%	3.27%	April 15	March 8

PepsiCo (PEP)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.5375/share	5.56%	2.72%	March 29	March 1

Just like its rival Coca-Cola, PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) is an all-around threat of solid dividend income, capital gains and a business you can believe in for more of the same. The company has improved a market-beating 15% year-to-date, and the diversified maker of beverages and snacks is attacking on a number of fronts, including updates and ad pushes to its classic Pepsi soft drink line.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.28/share	33%	2.85%	May 2	April 11

Qualcomm (QCOM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.35/share	40%	1.49%	TBA	TBA

Qualcomm‘s (NASDAQ:QCOM) yield has never been much to crow about, but the company’s dividend has come a long way since its initial 2.5-cent payout in 2003. The most recent increase is one of its biggest in years, and comes as the company’s stock once again tries to attack all-time highs set in spring 2012.

Raytheon (RTN)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.55/share	18%	3.74%	May 2	April 3

Sherwin-Williams (SHW)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.50/share	28%	1.18%	March 8	Feb. 25

SunTrust (STI)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.10/share	100%	1.38%	TBA	TBA

The fed’s most recent stress-test results looked favorably upon a number of banks that subsequently jacked up their payouts, and large regional SunTrust (NYSE:STI) is among those ranks. STI announced a 50% improvement to its dividend to 10 cents — its second increase since its payout declined from a high of 77 cents quarterly to 1 cent during the financial crisis.

Texas Instruments (TXN)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.28/share	33%	3.16%	May 20	April 30

UPS (UPS)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.62/share	8.8%	2.89%	March 12	Feb. 25

Walmart (WMT)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.47/share	18%	2.51%	April 1	March 12

For all the concerns of the effect of the payroll tax holiday expiration, higher gas prices and other economic worries, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has done all right for itself, gaining 10% year-to-date and 23% in the past year. The company recently announced better-than-expected earnings and provided a substantial kick to the dividend.

Waste Management (WM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.365/share	18%	3.72%	March 22	March 11

WellPoint (WLP)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.375/share	30%	2.26%	March 25	March 8

Wells Fargo (WFC)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.30/share	20%	2.70%	TBA	TBA
$0.25/share	14%	—	March 1	Feb. 1
*Wells Fargo increased its dividend twice during the period

The bank’s so nice, it rewarded shareholders twice! That’s right, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) — which has solidified its books since the financial crisis and been aided by an improving housing market — announced two payout increases during the past three months, stretching its payout from an original 22 cents last year to 30 cents in the upcoming quarter — good for a combined 36% improvement!

Williams-Sonoma (WSM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 3/29	Payment date	Record date
$0.31/share	41%	2.41%	May 24	April 26

Kyle Woodley is the Deputy Managing Editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Follow him on Twitter at @IPKyleWoodley.