Blue chip dividend stocks usually carry a premium. Often this premium is in excess of what I am willing to pay. With Monday's market slide followed by Tuesday and Wednesday's subsequent recovery, it appears that good stocks can fall into an after-Thanksgiving mark-down sale at anytime. Here are five stocks that I am watching closely:

Becton, Dickinson and Co provides a wide range of medical devices and diagnostic products used in hospitals, doctors' offices, research labs, and other settings. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

Sovran Self Storage Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust that owns self-storage facilities, mainly in the East, Midwest, Arizona, and Texas. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

Each time the market rallies, the question is asked 'Was yesterday the bottom?' Up to this point the answer has been a resounding 'No' as the market quickly resumed its downward slide. Recently, a columnist asked some Wall Street pros, what they are looking for that will tell them the worst is over.

Dividend investing in the classic implementation focuses on identifying solid companies with a record of growing their dividends each year; and an expectation that it will continue into the future. The focus is not solely on yield but a combination of yield and dividend growth. Often it is the lower yield, higher growth, security that will provide the best return over time.

RLI Corp, based in Peoria, IL, provides selected property, casualty and surety insurance. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

The recent turbulence in the market has provided income investors first hand experience in managing their income portfolio in a declining market. For some, this may be their first significant and prolonged downturn. Here are some things that will help you succeed and thrive during this bear market:

Realty Income Corporation engages in the acquisition and ownership of commercial retail real estate properties in United States. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

Through November 21, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) year-to-date return was -36.4%. Since last December 11th when Class A shares hit its record high of $151,650, it has lost nearly half its value closing at $77,500 on Thursday; its lowest level since August 2003. This has not gone unnoticed by shareholders. Some investors have lost confidence in the ability of BRK to pay its debts.

I am not a stock trader; I am a dividend and value based long-term buy-and-hold investor. When I add a stock to my dividend portfolio, it is my intention to hold the stock forever. However, I have one hard and fast rule about selling stocks:

Dividend investors have a lot to be thankful for. The 60 companies making up the Dividend Aristocrats have outperformed the S&P 500 index year-to-date by almost 12 percentage points. SmartMoney recently published a dividend growth stock screen with the following criteria:

SYSCO Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of a range of food and related products primarily for food-service industry in the United States and Canada. Linked here is detailed analysis and commentary.

Once you know your investment risk profile, how do you gauge the risk of individual securities in your portfolio or your portfolio as a whole? I tend to weigh the risk on my portfolio as a whole and make adjustments through the selection of more or less risky investments. For my dividend stocks I look at these measures:

Entertainment Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), develops and acquires entertainment and related properties. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

In an utopian world, the perfect dividend stock would be one that is both high-yield and provide a high dividend growth rate. Its share price would appreciate ratable with its increasing dividend. All of this would be driven by increasing earnings and cash flow.