I was looking back at how dividend stocks performed in 2019 and honestly, some of the winners surprised me. The highest dividend stocks 2019 list was dominated by investment firms and tech companies, which wasn't what I expected going into that year.

The Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, and Blackstone basically ran the show that year. These three investment management giants crushed it, with returns over 100% for some. Carlyle had $222 billion under management, Apollo hit $323 billion, and Blackstone was sitting on $554 billion (up 21% year-over-year). Makes sense they'd be on any list of highest dividend stocks 2019 when the market was booming and their assets were growing that fast.

What caught my attention was how tech storage companies squeezed into the top performers too. Western Digital and Seagate basically own the hard drive market, and both had strong years. There was also Mobile TeleSystems from Russia with an 8.7% yield - crazy high, but those kinds of yields usually come with volatility and risk attached.

On the energy side, TC Energy and Phillips 66 Partners both benefited from rising oil prices. TC Energy's been raising dividends for nearly two decades, which is the kind of consistency dividend hunters look for. Utilities rounded out the list with Southern Company and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners - both the type of steady performers you'd expect in any highest dividend stocks portfolio.

The thing about 2019 was that the S&P 500 itself only returned 31.5%, so these dividend stocks significantly outperformed the broader market. Most of them were large caps with yields above 3%, which was the baseline criteria. Nine out of ten were actually profitable too, so it wasn't just yield-chasing on struggling companies.

Looking back now, it's interesting how much the investment management sector dominated that year. If you're hunting for dividend performers, understanding which sectors tend to lead in bull markets definitely helps shape your strategy.