I am a firm believer in dividend growth investing strategies, where one could purchase a stock in a company that consistently increases its dividends and watch their dividend income rise over time. Dividend investing is a long-term strategy however, as the full impact of the fruits from your investments won’t be felt for several decades.

Successful dividend investing is much more than picking the highest yielding stocks. However, recent history has shown that in most cases, the stocks with the highest yields are the first to cut distributions when trouble arises. In order to be successful at long-term dividend investing, one needs to find the right balance between dividend growth and dividend yield.

There are several stocks, which offer tempting current high yields, which are less likely to be sustained. Most of the companies mentioned below are members of the elite S&P Dividend Aristocrats index for now.

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) is engaged in the production of pressure-sensitive materials, office products and a variety of tickets, tags, labels and other converted products. The Company's segments are Pressure-sensitive Materials, Retail Information Services and Office and Consumer Products. The company last raised its dividend in 2007. Avery Dennison has been unable to cover its dividend payment over the past two quarters. Based off the past 4 quarterly earnings reports however Avery earned $2.16/share and paid out $1.64 in dividends per each unit of common stock. Avery ended its 32-year streak of consistent dividend increases in 2008.

M&T Bank Corporation (MTB) is a bank holding company. The Bank offers a range of commercial banking, trust and investment services to its customers.