10 Stocks Paying Dividends for More than a Century

10 Dividend Stocks Ponying Up for 100 Years or More

Dividend stocks have been all the rage since the financial crisis, after dividend darlings like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and General Electric (GE) slashed their payouts dramatically during the downturn. In an age of historically low yields, dividend stocks have been a natural destination for income investors. Market forces aside, a small group of elite dividend payers have steadily paid back shareholders every year -- for a century or more! These long-term dividend plays are attractive not just because of their commitment to regular payouts, but also because of stable, established businesses that have stood the test of time. If you're looking for a long-term dividend play, these 10 picks are a great place to start.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)

Power tool giant Stanley Black & Decker has grown and evolved over the years, but its dividends have been in place since before Thomas Edison perfected his electric light bulb. After Stanley acquired Black & Decker in 2010 and the Craftsman tool brand at the beginning of this year, the company pretty much has a stranglehold on the power tool market. Beyond this legacy tool business, SWK has branched out into sophisticated technologies, including electronic security systems and retail loss prevention devices -- ensuring plenty of forward-looking revenue streams to fuel future dividends.

Dividends paid since: 1877

Current yield: 1.8 percent

ExxonMobil (XOM)

You don't get more pedigreed as an energy company than Exxon, the firm that has its roots in the original Standard Oil behemoth built by John D. Rockefeller. But despite plenty of energy innovations over the last century, from nuclear fusion to fracking, XOM has thrived. Though the energy sector has been under pressure as of late amid weak crude oil prices, ExxonMobil has weathered plenty of past volatility, and investors can have confidence this $320 billion giant isn't going anywhere -- and neither is its dividend.

Dividends paid since: 1882

Current yield: 4.0 percent

Consolidated Edison (ED)

Electric utilities didn't start proliferating across America until the end of the 19th century, and ConEd has its roots in one of the very first. Through the intervening years, the company has remained steadfast in its dividend payments. One of the biggest appeals of utility stocks like ConEd is that they are eminently reliable, with steady cash flow and a virtual monopoly on their customers, so you can be sure that this pick will keep paying you each quarter for many years to come.

Dividends paid since: 1885

Current yield: 3.3 percent

Eli Lilly (LLY)

Lilly is one of the most respected names in pharmaceuticals, known for big-time drugs over the years that include Prozac and Cialis. But the company refuses to rest on its laurels and is researching a current crop of cures for diabetes, cancer and other medical conditions to refill its product pipeline. The drugs that it can't create in-house, it can easily acquire, as evidenced by buyouts such as the recent $960 million deal for pain management biotech firm CoLucid in January. This ensures plenty of stability -- and dividends -- for Lilly.

Dividends paid since: 1885

Current yield: 2.6 percent

Johnson Controls (JCI)

Johnson Controls is known mostly as an auto parts company these days, with investors often forgetting that JCI got its start with thermostats. From a company that initially provided "building controls" and HVAC products, Johnson has evolved over the years to now encompass everything from energy efficiency to refrigeration technology. This, along with the company's most recent efforts to get involved with self-driving vehicle technology and "infotainment" in high-tech automobiles, ensures that JCI will have plenty of avenues for growth and dividends in the future.

Dividends paid since: 1887

Current yield: 2.6 percent

Procter & Gamble (PG)

When most investors think about stable businesses, P&G tends to be at the top of the list. That's with good reason, considering its unmatched portfolio of household brands that include Duracell batteries, Gillette shaving products and Pampers diapers just to name a few. Procter & Gamble isn't just keeping its dividend constant either, because with its roughly 60-year streak of annual dividend increases, P&G has shown it's committed to bigger payouts over time, too.

Dividends paid since: 1891

Current yield: 3.0 percent

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

Let's not let P&G overshadow Colgate-Palmolive, however, which is an equally powerful dividend play in its own right. Its suite of equally popular products include eponymous Colgate dental products and Palmolive detergents as well as Speed Stick deodorant. While many companies can suffer a downturn in tough times, nobody stops showering or brushing their teeth, and that means CL stock never has to worry about stopping its ultra-reliable dividend.

Dividends paid since: 1895

Current yield: 2.3 percent

General Mills (GIS)

When it comes to staples stocks, one more big name you can't overlook is General Mills. The company behind Cheerios cereal, Betty Crocker cake mixes and Green Giant vegetables is a kitchen pantry mainstay that will always have loyal customers. That kind of brand loyalty means regular cash flow that fuels one of the oldest dividends on Wall Street. And while growth isn't burning down the house, after a dividend increase in March, GIS now pays roughly twice the per-share dividend that it did 10 years ago.

Dividends paid since: 1898

Current yield: 3.6 percent

PPG Industries (PPG)

Originally named Pittsburgh Plate Glass, this manufacturer now has branched out from windows over the last century and into a host of industrial materials, including auto paint, aerospace coatings and fiberglass. A diverse array of applications for its products ensures that the business has a stable stream of sales to fuel consistent dividend payments to shareholders, even if the headline yield of less than 2 percent isn't overly impressive.

Dividends paid since: 1899

Current yield: 1.7 percent

Church & Dwight (CHD)

The company behind Arm & Hammer products, Orajel dental care and Trojan condoms is another reliable consumer products play that carries strong brand appeal and is recession-proof. And unlike some of the more entrenched names on this list, CHD stock has been a big growth engine of late; shares of Church & Dwight are up an impressive 330 percent or so in the last 10 years versus roughly 70 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 index in the same period.

Dividends paid since: 1901

Current yield: 1.5 percent

Jeff Reeves is currently executive editor of InvestorPlace.com. He is a stock analyst and financial commentator with almost two decades of newsroom and markets experience, contributing to The Wall Street Journal network, USA Today, CNBC, TheStreet.com, Fox Business Channel and US News. Follow him on Twitter @JeffReevesIP.