Jim Trippon, CPA

Warren Buffett is a legend in the world of investing for many reasons, but for all of his prescient acquisitions and smart purchases of value stocks, sometimes investors forget about his affinity for dividends.

In fact, dividends have provided the cornerstone for Buffett's value investment thesis for decades and that's why investors can make money by following the Oracle of Omaha's purchases.

One recent example is medical technology firm Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), which Buffett purchased 1.2 million shares of earlier this year.

Becton Dickinson just did what Buffett and other dividend hunters love: The company raised its quarterly payout 12.1% to 37 cents a share.

That's good for annual payout of $1.48 a share compared to the current dividend of $1.32 a share. The new dividend is payable on January 4 to shareholders of record on December 14.

Becton Dickinson's five-year dividend growth rate is a robust 16.2% and the company also announced it would repurchase 10 million of its own shares.