Best Healthcare Dividend Stocks: 5 Core Holdings

Healthcare can be a profitable sector to have in your portfolio. Any dividend growth investor should consider having at least 1 healthcare dividend stocks.

As a market, the healthcare industry is highly regulated and not easy to get into but yet, new research and findings continue to offer growth. There are 2 industry groups and  6 industries in the healthcare sector each with their own business potential, feel free to complement your holdings across multiple industries. The breakdown at a high level is between:

• Health Care Equipment & Services
• Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences

The Healthcare Sector

Before we jump into the best healthcare stocks, here is the list of available healthcare stocks.

The Best Healthcare Stocks

The angle of the list here is towards dividend growth investing as opposed to income or growth only.

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading healthcare companies in the world, with over one billion people using its products daily. The company has a well-diversified global footprint with the US accounting for 50% of the company’s revenues, and international markets constituting the remaining 50%.

The company offers the world’s largest range of consumer healthcare products and a comprehensive portfolio of surgical technology and specialty solutions. It is a global leader in seven consumer categories and owns a strong portfolio of iconic brands.

Some of its top selling and well-known brands include Neutrogena, Aveeno, Listerine, Tylenol, Motrin, and Zyrtec. Johnson & Johnson operates through an extensive distribution network, product portfolio, and a huge customer base. It is one of the most reputed healthcare organizations in the world and has developed a deep understanding of its customers’ needs with more than a century’s old experience.

Key Investment Data

AbbVie Inc

AbbVie is a leading research-driven global biopharmaceutical company. The company produces drugs for several different therapeutic areas such as rheumatology, oncology, virology, neurology, etc.

AbbVie’s blockbuster drug, Humira is one of the best-selling drugs globally and accounts for nearly 60% of the company’s revenue. The drug is used to treat psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Other key products include Lupron, Creon, Androgel, and Marinol. The company also has a robust late-stage pipeline across several therapeutic areas.

The company has a large distribution network consisting of AbbVie-owned distribution centers and warehouses from where AbbVie's products reach wholesalers, distributors, and government agencies worldwide. AbbVie operates through only one business segment - Pharmaceuticals.

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Abbott Laboratories

For more than 130 years, Abbott Laboratories has put science and innovation to work to create more possibilities for more people through the power of health. They understand that the first step to living your best life is good health. 

From removing the regular pain of finger sticks as people manage their diabetes to connecting patients to doctors with real-time information monitoring their hearts, from easing chronic pain and movement disorders to testing half the world’s blood donations to ensure a healthy supply, Abbott’s purpose is to make the world a better place by bringing life-changing health technologies to the people who need them.

Abbott creates breakthrough products – in diagnostics, medical devices, nutrition and branded generic pharmaceuticals – that help individuals, their families and their community lead healthier lives, full of unlimited possibilities. Today, 113,000 employees are working to make a lasting impact on health in the more than 160 countries they serve. Their balanced leadership across diverse markets and geographies gives them more ways to grow and insulates them from the impact of global economic swings, helping them deliver consistent growth and strong shareholder returns, even in an environment as turbulent as today’s.

Focusing solely on cutting-edge innovations alone won't be enough. Their 2030 Sustainability Plan is focused on designing access and affordability into their life-changing technologies and products. Their goal is to improve the lives of more than 3 billion people by decade's end – reaching 1 billion more than they do today, each year. That will require innovating for access and affordability from the first day of research and development. They also are working across their business and in partnership with others to break down barriers and bring these innovations to the people who need them.

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Becton Dickinson & Co

Becton Dickinson is a global medical technology company engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of a broad range of medical supplies, devices, and diagnostic products. The company serves customers including healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry, and individual consumers in more than 190 countries worldwide.

Becton Dickinson’s products are manufactured and sold in the USA, Europe, EMA, Greater Asia, Latin America, and Canada. The company operates through a strong network of independent distribution channels and sales representatives. It also has extensive R&D facilities in North America, China, France, India, Ireland, and Singapore.

Becton Dickinson’s business segments are BD Medical which is the largest, accounting for 54% of (2018) revenues, BD Life Sciences (27%) and BD Interventional (19%). By solutions, medication delivery is the largest constituting 23% of (2018) revenues, followed by medication management (16%), pharmaceutical, preanalytical, diagnostic systems, and diabetes care, biosciences, urology, etc.

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Cardinal Health Inc

Cardinal Health Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare solutions provider. It is a leading distributor of pharmaceutical and medical products to pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare providers in more than 60 countries including the US, Canada, and European and Asian markets.

Cardinal Health has become a leading household name with more than three million patients using its healthcare products. In addition, the company also supplies 10,000 specialty physician clinics, 6,700 laboratories, 26,000 pharmacies. Cardinal Health has a huge presence in the U.S. in nearly 85% of the U.S. hospitals. It has operations in 46 countries and manages one of the country’s largest distribution networks.

The company manufactures nearly 2.5 billion healthcare products each year. Accounting for nearly 90% of the revenues, the Pharmaceutical is Cardinal Health’s larger segment involved in the distribution of specialty and generic pharmaceutical, healthcare, and consumer products in the US. The Medical segment (constituting the remaining 10%) manufactures and distributes Cardinal Health and other branded medical, surgical and laboratory products, in the US and other key markets.

Key Investment Data