$6 trillion is a staggering amount of money. It also happens to be the amount of cash consumers will spend on healthcare per year by the time the calendar rolls over to 2027. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), healthcare expenditures are set to rise by 5.5% per year from now until then. This torrid pace of growth underscores the continued demand for healthcare. All in all, a growing and aging population continues to drive innovation and overall demand for new drugs, devices and therapies.
This is wonderful news for our Best Dividend Stocks List pick in the sector.
Our selection is one of the largest pharmaceutical firms on the planet and has been designing new drugs and therapies for decades. This includes being one of the top dogs in both cancer and diabetes care, which has allowed it to pull in massive cash flows and profits over its history. And it continues to reward shareholders with strong dividend growth and buybacks. Last quarter alone, our pick increased its payout by 15% and bought back more than $1.1 billion worth of stock.
And the growth of these shareholder rewards should continue.
Thanks to its rich pipeline, smart M&A moves, continued drug development and higher healthcare demand, our Best Dividend Stocks List pick is poised to keep the cash flows and dividends coming. For investors today, our healthcare stock is set to make the most out of future demand.
Check out our original pick here.
To summarize, here are five reasons why you should own this stock:
- One of the world’s largest pharmas with clinical operations conducted in more than 55 countries and its drugs sold in more than 120.
- Recent M&A has made it a cancer-fighting specialist with more high-margined drugs under its umbrella.
- Recorded a 7% jump to revenues for full-year 2018 numbers. Almost 40% of those revenues were driven by new drugs with long-term patent protection runways.
- Increased its dividend 15% at the start of the year and unveiled a new robust buyback program.
- Healthy payout ratio of 47% and increasing yield of 2.00%.
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