I’m a huge advocate of dividend growth investing. This is a long-term strategy whereby you buy and hold shares in world-class businesses that are paying out safe, growing dividends to shareholders. The strategy is awesome for many reasons. One of those reasons? You’re literally getting paid to invest. Not only that, you’re getting paid more and more money. That’s right. High-quality dividend growth stocks are like the golden geese that lay ever-more golden eggs. These businesses continue to rack up higher profits, year in and year out. And they continue to pay out higher dividends, year in and year out. Because what’s better than totally passive dividend income? Totally passive dividend income that’s growing! This allows your purchasing power to keep up with, or even outpace, inflation. This is important over the long run, as things do keep getting more expensive. Today, I want to tell you about three dividend growth stocks that just increased their dividends.

The first dividend increase I have to tell you about came from Verizon Communications (VZ). Verizon just increased their dividend by 2%. I know. 2% isn’t much. But here’s the thing. It is more money. Not only is it more money; it’s more money for doing absolutely nothing other than continuing to hold stock. Tough to complain about that. This is the 17th consecutive year of dividend increases for the telecom giant. This stock has been an underperformer, down almost 6% on the year. And that past underperformance could be your future opportunity. Most basic valuation metrics are below their respective recent historical averages. The 4.6% yield is 40 basis points higher than its five-year average. And the P/CF ratio of 5.9 is well below its five-year average of 7.2. Verizon won’t get you rich overnight. It’s not that kind of stock. But if you’re looking to safely boost the overall yield of your dividend growth stock portfolio, Verizon is worth a good look. Next up?

Let’s talk about the dividend increase that came courtesy of National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA). National Storage Affiliates just increased their dividend by 7.9%. Almost 8% more money for sitting on your hands? Yeah, that’s pretty sweet. But check it out. It gets sweeter. This is the second time this year that this company has increased its dividend. This follows up on an 8.6% dividend increase last quarter. How’s that for golden geese laying ever-more golden eggs? This is the seventh consecutive year of dividend increases for the self-storage REIT.

Last but not least, let’s talk about the dividend increase that came in from Eastgroup Properties (EGP). Eastgroup Properties just increased their dividend by 13.9%. Where else are you going to get nearly 14% more money for doing almost nothing at all? I don’t know if I ever got a 14% pay raise from my old day job, before I quit in my early 30s. And even if I would have received a 14% boost in my pay, it would have only come about because I was coming in early, staying late, and working as hard as possible. Shareholders get the same result without lifting a finger. The industrial property REIT has now increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. This stock is up 40% YTD, and it looks pricey here.

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