The Healthcare Sector includes organizations specializing in hospital management, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and medical products. Stocks in these companies are often considered defensive due to a consistent demand for their goods and services. Thus, this sector is less sensitive to economic cycles.
One surety in life is that we will continue to age until we die. As we age, our heath eventually begins to decline. Unfortunately, the Healthcare Sector will never become obsolete. However, understanding this provides us with investment opportunities in quality dividend growth stocks.
This week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for healthcare companies with a yield at or above 2% and have increased their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. The results are presented below:
Medtronic Inc. (MDT) is a global medical device manufacturer with leadership positions in the pacemaker, defibrillator, orthopedic, diabetes management and other medical markets. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1977 and has increased its dividend payments for 41 consecutive years. Yield: 2.2%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a leader in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer products industries. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1944 and has increased its dividend payments for 56 consecutive years. Yield: 2.6%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) ranks as one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, offering a wide range of drugs across a broad therapeutic spectrum. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1901 and has increased its dividend payments for 12 consecutive years. Yield: 3.4%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) is one of the leading wholesale distributors of pharmaceuticals, medical/surgical supplies and related products to a broad range of health care customers. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1983 and has increased its dividend payments for 22 consecutive years. Yield: 4.0%
Abbvie Inc. (ABBV) is a global research-based pharmaceuticals business that emerged as a separate entity following its spin-off from Abbott Laboratories at the start of 2013. AbbVie's key drug is Humira for rheumatoid arthritis. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1926 and has increased its dividend payments for 46 consecutive years. Yield: 5.2%
As with past screens, the data presented above is in its raw form. Some of the the companies would be disqualified for poor dividend fundamentals. However some of the others may be worth additional due diligence.
My database, D4L-Data, is an Open Office spreadsheet containing more than 20 columns of information on the 200+ companies that I track. The data is sortable and has built-in buttons and macros to make it easy to use. Companies included in the list are those that have had a history of dividend growth. The D4L-Data spreadsheet is a part of D4L-Premium Services and is updated each Saturday for subscribers.
Full Disclosure: Long JNJ, ABBV
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