While dividend growth investing's main strength, in my opinion, lies in the way it can allow you to build safe, growing, passive income, it can also allow you to outperform the S&P 500. It's like having your cake and eating it, too. Today, I want to tell you about three high-quality dividend growth stocks that keep crushing the market. Ready? Let's dig in.

The first dividend growth stock that keeps crushing the market is Albemarle Corporation (ALB). Albemarle is a chemical manufacturing company with a market cap of $27 billion. What doesn't Albemarle offer? Want exposure to fast-growing lithium demand? Check. They're one of the world's largest lithium producers. Want a safe, growing dividend? Albemarle's got you covered here, too. Albemarle is a Dividend Aristocrat, with 27 consecutive years of dividend increases. And with the dividend secured by a low payout ratio of 41.1%, based on midpoint guidance for this fiscal year's adjusted EPS, this is a safe dividend that you can sleep well at night with. The ten-year DGR of 10.5% isn't knocking you dead. Nor is the stock's yield of 0.7%. But this is a compounder that just keeps crushing the market. This stock is up 53% YTD, and it just keeps running laps around the S&P 500.

The second dividend growth stock that keeps crushing the market is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT). Microsoft is a multinational technology corporation with a market cap of $2.3 trillion. Microsoft, as I've said so many times, is one of my favorite dividend growth stocks of all. If one were to try to imagine the perfect company in the year 2021, it'd probably look a lot like Microsoft. It prints money by providing the world with the products and services it demands, like PCs, software, networking, and cloud computing. And that's afforded them the opportunity to reward shareholders with reliable, rising dividends. Microsoft has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Their current quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share is more than triple the $0.20 per share it was in the fall of 2011 - 10 years ago. And it's this growth in a dividend that yields chasers always miss. They miss the growth forest for the yield trees, focus purely on today's yield, and forget about where things are going to be 10 or 20 years from now. As the great Wayne Gretzky said - and I'm paraphrasing here - skate to where the puck is going to be.

Last but not least, let's talk about the market crusher dividend growth stock that is Target Corporation (TGT). Target is an American retail corporation with a market cap of $119 billion. Investing in world-class retailer Target is like hitting the bullseye because it gives you everything you could possibly want as an investor. It has excellent fundamentals. It's run at a high level. It has great long-term prospects, due to its positioning in both physical retail and e-commerce. And it rewards shareholders handsomely. Those rewards come partly in the form of safe, growing dividends. Target has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years. This is a Dividend Aristocrat and a Dividend King. It's among the best of the best dividend growth stocks. The 10-year DGR of 12.3% is solid, and they most recently increased their dividend by more than 32%! Even after that monster dividend increase, the payout ratio, at 28.7%, is incredibly low. This is a dividend you can set your watch by, which makes it perfect for living off of. While the yield of 1.5% isn't super high, it's the total return story here that this stock is really telling - if you're listening. The stock is up 37% YTD, but this impressive performance has been going on for years. It's crushed the S&P 500 this year. But it's been doing that for many years now, so it's no surprise.

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