A dividend-paying stock generally pays in a range of 2% to 5% annually, whether in cash or in shares. Dividend aristocrats are at the higher end of that scale. When you look at a stock listing online, check the "dividend yield" line to find out what the company is currently paying out.

Dividing the stock’s annual dividend amount by its current share price allows you to calculate a stock’s dividend yield. For example, if a stock is trading at $50 per share, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share. That company’s dividend would be 80 cents.