Many income investors would love to have a low-maintenance portfolio that doesn’t require constant attention. They’d prefer to buy great stocks and rake in the dividends without any hiccups.
Three Motley Fool contributors believe they’ve identified fantastic dividend stocks to buy and hold for the next decade. Here’s why they chose Abbott Laboratories (ABT -0.37%), AbbVie (ABBV 3.10%), and Pfizer (PFE 0.75%).
A diversified dividend stock with a growing payout
David Jagielski (Abbott Laboratories): If you’re looking for a solid, safe dividend stock you can buy and hold for years, Abbott Laboratories makes for an easy choice. The healthcare company has a terrific track record for paying and increasing its dividend, plus its diversified business makes it the type of buy-and-forget stock that long-term investors won’t have to worry about.
What makes Abbott Laboratories a great investment is the stability it offers. With the company announcing its latest dividend in February, this marks the 405th consecutive quarterly payout it will make to investors (the dividend is payable next month). That means the company has been making dividend payments to investors on a regular basis since 1924.
Amid all that has happened over the past century, the company hasn’t interrupted its dividend. On top of that, the stock is a Dividend King, with Abbott having increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. Currently, it yields 1.8%, which is better than the S&P 500‘s average of 1.5%.
The company reported its first-quarter numbers recently, and it was another stellar performance for the business. For the first three months of the year, Abbott’s sales totaled $10.4 billion, representing a 4% year-over-year increase. Its pharma business grew, as did nutritional and medical device sales.
The only area where it didn’t generate positive growth was diagnostics, which declined by 7% (largely due to a decline in COVID-19 testing). Even amid economic uncertainty, the company is forecasting an organic growth rate of between 7.5% and 8.5% for its entire business this year.
Abbott trades at 17 times its trailing earnings and is reasonably priced, given the dividend income and long-term stability you get from this top healthcare stock. It’s a great stock to buy and hold for the next decade or longer.
A reliable dividend payer to hold for the long term
Prosper Junior Bakiny (AbbVie): Income-seeking investors want stocks that won’t suspend their dividends or, better yet, will increase their payouts year after year. There are several factors to consider when determining whether a company belongs to this class, including its track record of dividend increases (or lack thereof) and its underlying business.
AbbVie, a leading pharmaceutical giant, excels on both counts. The company is a Dividend King — it has now raised its payouts for 53 consecutive years, taking into account the time it spent under the wing of Abbott Laboratories.
Since splitting from its former parent company in 2013, AbbVie has increased its dividend by an impressive 310%. The company checks our first box, but what about the second?
One of the best pieces of evidence that AbbVie’s underlying operations are rock-solid is that, despite losing U.S. patent exclusivity in 2023 for the most lucrative drug in the industry’s history, it returned to top-line growth last year, an impressive achievement. It wouldn’t have been odd (by industry standards) for AbbVie to see its revenue decline for even a couple of years, but thanks to newer products with fast-growing sales, it didn’t have to. Over the next decade, expect AbbVie to continue doing what it has been doing since 2013.
Generate consistent revenue and earnings, develop and market newer products, and increase its dividends every single year. It’s a great income stock to buy and hold through 2035.
A better story than meets the eye
Keith Speights (Pfizer): I’ll readily admit that a quick glance at Pfizer’s stock performance might raise questions about buying and holding its stock. Shares of the big drugmaker have plunged more than 60% since late 2021, when Pfizer enjoyed smooth sailing because of its COVID-19 vaccine. The pharma stock is also down by a double-digit percentage year to date.
Pfizer certainly faces some challenges. Its COVID-19 product sales will likely never be as high as they were three years ago. Several of the company’s key drugs are set to lose patent exclusivity in the coming years. Pfizer has also experienced some pipeline setbacks, most recently due to safety data for danuglipron, which led the company to discontinue development of the experimental obesity drug.
But I think Pfizer has a better story than meets the eye. Its forward dividend yield stands at a lofty 7.57%. This dividend is also pretty safe, in my view, thanks to Pfizer’s solid cash flow. The company’s management has consistently reiterated a commitment to maintaining and growing the dividend.
Pfizer’s valuation is attractive, with shares trading at only 7.6 times forward earnings. The average forward earnings multiple for the S&P 500 healthcare sector is roughly 16.4.
Don’t rule out Pfizer’s ability to deliver solid growth, either. The company has beefed up its product lineup and pipeline through investments in research and development, as well as acquisitions. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pfizer makes another deal to pick up a promising weight-loss drug in the wake of the danuglipron flop.
Pfizer will be most appealing to income and value investors. However, I think any investor who buys and holds this beaten-down stock over the next decade will enjoy market-beating total returns.
