Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Emerson Electric in FocusEmerson Electric (EMR) is headquartered in St. Louis, and is in the Industrial Products sector. The stock has seen a price change of 22.2% since the start of the year. The maker of process controls systems, valves and analytical instruments is paying out a dividend of $0.5 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.06% compared to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry's yield of 0.62% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.29%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.02 is up 1% from last year. In the past five-year period, Emerson Electric has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.31%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Emerson Electric's payout ratio is 55%, which means it paid out 55% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.EMR is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $3.93 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 13.58%.Bottom LineFrom greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that EMR is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Emerson Electric Co. (EMR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research