Key Points

Pfizer boasts a strong lineup of medications under development, with several expected to achieve strong sales.
UPS has shifted focus away from Amazon.com toward more lucrative delivery services.
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF provides both dividend income and potential for growth.

If you want to be a savvy investor, you should know what this table is telling you:

Dividend-Paying Status	Average Annual Total Return, 1973-2025
Dividend growers and initiators	10.22%
Dividend payers	9.20%
No change in dividend policy	6.87%
Dividend non-payers	4.21%
Dividend shrinkers and eliminators	(0.96%)
Equal-weighted S&P 500 index	7.74%

Data source: Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds.

As it starkly shows, it is hard to beat healthy and growing dividend-paying stocks if you are looking to boost your wealth over time. Here, then, are three to consider.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Pfizer

Let us start with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). It is a compelling dividend payer largely because of its dividend yield - recently a fat 6.7%. That payout is hefty in large part because the stock has averaged annual losses of about 7% over the past three years. (It is up 17% over the past year, though, as of June 4.) When a stock price falls, its dividend yield rises, so many high-yielders have been facing some kind of struggle.

A key challenge for Pfizer has been the patent protection expiration of some of its biggest sellers. That is an issue for every pharmaceutical company, and one which they typically tackle by having a pipeline filled with promising drugs in development - and/or by acquiring such promising drugs from other companies. Pfizer is doing both.

Pfizer shares seem undervalued, too, with a recent forward P/E ratio of 9.0, well below the five-year average of 9.7.

2. United Parcel Service (UPS)

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is another stock with a massive dividend yield, recently 7.7%. It, too, has posted average annual losses over the past three years, 8.6%. But as with Pfizer, there is a lot to like about UPS.

Detractors are wringing their hands over UPS decision to cut back on the deliveries it makes for Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), but that is far from a death knell. Others see that as a smart move, because that arrangement has largely been a low-profit-margin one for UPS. The company is now focusing more on serving higher-margin customers, such as small and medium-sized businesses and the healthcare sector.

UPS first-quarter report featured overall domestic revenue down 2.3%, while revenue per package grew 6.5%. Internationally, revenue rose by 3.8%, with revenue per package popping by 12.1%. The company shares seem reasonably valued, with a recent forward P/E ratio of 14, a bit below the five-year average of 15. Long-term believers in the UPS plan will be paid handsomely while they wait.

3. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

My last suggestion is not exactly a stock. It is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that trades like a stock. It is the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHD), which recently yielded a solid 3.25% and parks investors money across roughly 100 dividend payers such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN), and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). (UPS shares were among its top 30 holdings recently, too.)

The ETF offers a compelling mix of both income and growth - indeed, it was up nearly 20% year to date as of June 4. It is a good choice instead of investing in individual dividend payers on your own or in addition to doing so.

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Selena Maranjian has positions in Amazon, Pfizer, and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Pfizer, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.