In addition to death and taxes, we can add one more sure thing:Until death, our bodies will continue to age and need more attention. As I am approaching 50 this is becoming more of a reality to me. I take little comfort in knowing that there are millions of other people in the same situation. However, from an investing standpoint, it does provide an opportunity.
As each year passes, we will need more medical services, devices and medications. Sometimes the medical product or service that meets our needs will provide a better quality of life, and often they are life sustaining. We rely on companies in the Healthcare Sector to supply the medical needs of our population.
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. Unfortunately, the Healthcare Sector will never become obsolete.
This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for healthcare companies with:
- A yield at or above 2.4%
- Increased dividends for at least 10 consecutive years
The results are presented below:
Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX) provides a wide range of medical devices and diagnostic products used in hospitals, doctors' offices, research labs and other settings.
Yield: 2.4% | Years of Div. Growth: 39
Mine Safety Appliances Co. (MSA) develops, manufactures and supplies products that protect people's health and safety. Products include self-contained breathing apparatus and gas masks.
Yield: 2.5% | Years of Div. Growth: 41
Medtronic Inc. (MDT) is a global medical device manufacturer with leadership positions in the pacemaker, defibrillator, orthopedic, diabetes management, and other medical markets.
Yield: 2.6% | Years of Div. Growth: 34
Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) is a leading domestic distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute care market, a health care supply chain management company, and a direct-to-consumer supplier of testing and monitoring supplies for diabetes.
Yield: 3.0% | Years of Div. Growth: 14
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is a diversified life science company that is planning to split into two publicly traded companies, one in diversified medical products and the other in research-based pharmaceuticals.
Yield: 3.4% | Years of Div. Growth: 39
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a leader in the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products industries.
Yield: 3.6% | Years of Div. Growth: 50
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.
Full Disclosure: Long OMI, MDT, JNJ, ABT. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.
