Investing in dividend stocks is a good way to combat inflation and a bear market. Collecting a recurring dividend payment can strengthen your financial position and improve your portfolio's returns.

And there are plenty of high-yielding stocks out there that pay much more than the S&P 500 dividend yield of 1.8%. Gilead Sciences (GILD -2.92%), AT&T (T -1.40%), and TC Energy (TRP 0.91%) all pay more than double that amount. And if you invest in all three, you can ensure that you're collecting a high dividend every month of the year.

1. Gilead Sciences

Healthcare company Gilead Sciences generates the bulk of its money from HIV medicines, although it also has an oncology business that has been growing. Cancer drug Trodelvy has brought in $305 million in sales through the first six months of the year, representing year-over-year growth of 90%. But it's still in its early stages, as the drug could generate up to $3 billion in revenue at its peak.

Overall, the company's revenue after the first two quarters of 2022 has totaled $12.9 billion and is up 2%, thanks to both Trodelvy and HIV sales, which are up 5% year over year. Year-to-date profits of $1.2 billion are down from the $3.3 billion that the company generated a year ago, but that's largely due to in-process research and development impairment of $2.7 billion that Gilead recorded earlier this year, stemming from an acquisition in 2020. The charge is nonrecurring and shouldn't detract investors from what's still a solid business.

Gilead's dividend currently yields 4.5%, and the company makes payments every March, June, September, and December.

2. AT&T

Telecom company AT&T spun off WarnerMedia earlier this year (now part of Warner Bros. Discovery) as it sought to simplify its business. Combining streaming with telecom could have made it difficult for the company to balance both its dividend while also pursuing a growth strategy that would have seen it go up against big names like Walt Disney and Netflix. 

As a result of the spinoff, AT&T is in the midst of a transition, and investors may be concerned about the dividend. However, management projects that by the end of the year, it can shave more than $4 billion in annualized costs from its books. That would go a long way in making investors feel comfortable about the dividend, which costs the company over $8 billion during a 12-month period.

This year, AT&T is projecting a free cash flow of about $14 billion. There is already a buffer between the dividend and free cash flow, but additional cost savings will help make AT&T a more tenable investment for risk-averse investors.

There is some risk with AT&T's 7.4% yield, especially after the company said its customers were slower at paying their bills when it last reported earnings in July. But as long as that situation doesn't deteriorate further and if the company can come through on its cost-saving goals for the year, AT&T could make for an underrated, contrarian buy right now. The telecom giant makes dividend payments in February, May, August, and November.

3. TC Energy

Energy infrastructure company TC Energy makes for a safe, solid income investment to own. It transports oil and natural gas on its pipelines, which help connect Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. It also has power-generation facilities that power millions of homes.

The company's business has been fairly stable, with TC Energy projecting that this year its comparable earnings per share will be in line with what it reported last year. Through the first six months of the year, TC Energy's comparable earnings total CA$2.1 billion and are down less than 3% from what the business generated a year earlier.

The consistency in TC Energy's business makes it a reliable dividend stock to own; in each of the past four years, its annual revenue has been between CA$13 billion and CA$13.7 billion. And at 6.3%, investors can collect a fairly high yield from the stock.

TC Energy has also increased its dividend for more than 20 years in a row, averaging a compounded annual growth rate of 7% during that time. The company normally makes dividend payments every January, April, July, and October.