Companies that return the most money to shareholders have beaten the index by 11 percentage points since the bull market began, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world's largest grain processor, has the biggest weighting in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index and has jumped 20% this year. The Decatur, Illinois-based company pays a dividend yield of 1.77%.

AT&T, Amazon

Dividends relative to share price exceed 6% for Dallas-based AT&T Inc., the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, and Greensboro, North Carolina-based Lorillard Inc., maker of Newport cigarettes. Companies that pay nothing to shareholders include Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., the largest online retailer, and Apple Inc., which produces iPhones and iPads from Cupertino, California.

The economic expansion that began in mid-2009 spurred the biggest jump in profits since 1988 last year, pushing cash to an all-time-high of $937 billion for companies in the benchmark U.S. equity index, S&P data show. This year, there have been 95 increases and no decreases to payouts in the S&P 500.

Corporations with dividends have climbed 3.8% on average this year, compared with a 2% rally for those without. That's helping mutual funds that focus on companies trading at the cheapest levels relative to earnings and that pay the highest dividends beat their peers this year. So-called value managers overseeing at least $1 billion have returned 3% on average in 2011, compared with 2.5% for growth funds, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

'Rewarding Quality'

"The market is continuing to be ready for rewarding quality companies, and in general those companies tend to pay dividends," said Jay Kaplan, the co-manager of the Royce Value Fund that beat 96% of its peers in the past five years. "In this leg of the market, you have a good shot of quality companies doing well."

Higher oil prices may cut profits so much that dividend increases won't be enough to entice investors, said Walter Todd, who helps oversee about $900 million at Greenwood Capital Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina.

"If margins are rolling over, that could precipitate weaker earnings and then stock prices following that down," he said. "The dividend's going to help, but it may not offset the decline in price."

Oil's Surge