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10 Healthcare Dividend Growth Stocks Poised For Exceptional Dividend Increases


Article published on May 20th, 2025 by Bob Ciura

The healthcare sector is home to some of the most popular dividend stocks in our investment universe.

The importance of healthcare in the lives of many consumers makes this sector one of the most stable and recession-resistant in the entire stock market, and allows well-managed healthcare companies to raise their dividends year in and year out.

Clearly, this sector holds appeal for dividend growth investors.

To that end, we’ve compiled a list of over 300 healthcare stocks (along with important investing metrics like price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields) which you can download below:

 

Click here to instantly download your free spreadsheet of all Healthcare Stocks now, along with important investing metrics.

However, the healthcare sector has seen elevated volatility in recent weeks.

On May 12th, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that attempts to equalize the price people in the United States pay for prescription drugs relative to other developed nations.

Critically, the executive order also aims to open an avenue for Americans to buy drugs directly from manufacturers, bypassing price increases imposed by intermediaries.

So, what does this mean for pharmaceuticals and health insurers in the U.S. over the next several years? The short answer is that the future remains uncertain.

That’s because there’s no guarantee this executive order will have the intended effect. Legal challenges to the 2025 executive order are expected, and where things will land is not possible to know with any certainty.

Based on the above analysis, and market prices since the announcement, this executive order is not expected to significantly affect pharmaceutical companies.

For investors, this spells opportunity. The following 10 healthcare dividend stocks have become more attractive due to their recent price declines, and should continue to raise their dividends over the next several years.

Note: UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was excluded from this analysis, as the company is reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible Medicare fraud.

Table of Contents

The table of contents below allows for easy navigation. The stocks are listed by 5-year expected returns, in ascending order.

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #10: Perrigo Company plc (PRGO)

Perrigo operates in the healthcare sector as a manufacturer of over-the-counter consumer products. Its Consumer Self-Care Americas segment is comprised of the U.S., Mexico and Canada consumer healthcare businesses.

The Consumer Self-Care International segment includes branded consumer healthcare business primarily in Europe, but also Australia and Israel. The company generates ~$4.4 billion in annual revenue.

On May 7th, 2025, Perrigo reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue declined 3.7% to $1.04 billion, which was $43 million below estimates. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $0.60 compared very favorably to $0.29 in the prior year and was $0.03 ahead of estimates.

Much of the decline in revenue was related to divested business, exited product lines, and unfavorable currency exchange rates. Organic revenue decreased 0.4% for the quarter.

Consumer Self-Care Americas’ organic revenue fell 3.6% as improvements in Nutrition and Upper Respiratory were more than offset by the divesting of lower margin products, the stocking up of pregnancy prevention products in the prior year, and weaker demand for Digestive Health.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PRGO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #9: Cigna Group (CI)

Cigna is a leading provider of insurance products and services. The company’s products include dental, medical, disability and life insurance that it provides through employer-sponsored, government-sponsored, and individual coverage plans.

Cigna operates four business segments, including Evernorth, which provides pharmacy services and benefit management, U.S. Medical, which provides commercial and government health insurance, International Markets and Group Disability.

Evernorth contributes ~80% of annual revenues while Cigna Healthcare accounts for much of the rest. Cigna has annual revenues of ~$250 billion. 

On May 2nd, 2025, Cigna reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 14.2% to $65.45 billion, which was a staggering $5.1 billion ahead of estimates.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $6.74 compared favorably to adjusted earnings-per-share of $6.47 in the prior year and was $0.39 better than expected.

For the quarter, total customer relationships were unchanged at 182.2 million from the same period a year ago, but this was down from 186.8 million in Q4 2024.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on CI (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #8: Elevance Health Inc. (ELV)

Elevance Health Inc., formerly known as Anthem, Inc., is a healthcare benefits company has more than 47 million members through its plans.

The company provides managed plans to a wide variety of markets, including individual, commercial, Medicare and Medicaid. Its two largest customer groups are government (~60% of annual sales) and commercial business (~30% of sales). Elevance has annual sales of $175 billion.

On January 22nd, 2025, Elevance raised its quarterly dividend 4.9% to $1.71, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 15 consecutive years.

On April 22nd, 2025, Elevance reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 14.6% to $48.8 billion, which topped estimates by $2.55 billion. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $11.97 compared very favorably to adjusted earnings-per-share of $10.64 in the prior year and was $0.49 more than expected.

Revenue growth was primarily a result of higher premium yields in the Health Benefits, growth in Medicare Advantage and Individual ACA memberships, and increases in product revenue for CarelonRx. These gains were once again offset by a reduction in Medicaid membership.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ELV (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #7: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. stands as the global forefront in addressing intricate analytical challenges, empowering its clientele to expedite advancements in life sciences research, enhance patient diagnostics, and elevate efficiency across international laboratories.

The company’s operational segments are Life Sciences Solutions (21%), Analytical Instruments (16%), Specialty Diagnostics (10%), and Laboratory Products and Biopharma (53%).

Thermo Fisher generates around $43 billion in annual sales and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. On February 19th, 2025, Thermo Fisher raised its dividend by 10% to a quarterly rate of $0.43.

On April 23rd, 2025, Thermo Fisher posted its Q1 results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. Revenues came in at $10.36 billion, up 1% organically compared to last year, with only a slight contribution from M&A. Growth was achieved despite two fewer selling days and headwinds from the runoff of pandemic-related revenue.

The adjusted operating income margin held firm at 21.9%, down just slightly from last year’s 22.0%, reflecting continued strategic investments and FX headwinds. Thanks to strong execution, adjusted EPS for the quarter rose by 1% to $5.15.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on TMO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #6: Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb was created when Bristol-Myers and Squibb merged on October 4th, 1989. This leading drug maker of cardiovascular and anti-cancer therapeutics has annual revenues of about $46 billion.

On December 11th, 2024, Bristol-Myers raised its quarterly dividend 3.3% to $0.62.

On April 24th, 2025, Bristol-Myers reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue declined 6% to $11.2 billion, but this was $490 million above estimates.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.80 compared to -$4.40 in the prior year and was $0.30 better than expected. The company suffered a steep earnings-per-share loss in Q1 2024.

Adjusting for unfavorable currency exchange, revenue fell 4% for the quarter. U.S. revenues declined 7% to $7.9 billion. International was down 2% to $3.3 billion, but revenue grew 2% when excluding currency exchange.

Revlimid, which treats myeloma, decreased 44% to $936 billion due to generic competition.

Bristol-Myers provided revised guidance for 2025 as well. Adjusted earnings-per-share are projected to be in a range of $6.70 to $6.90 for the year, up from $6.55 to $6.85 previously.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on BMY (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #5: Merck & Co. (MRK)

Merck & Company is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world. Merck manufactures prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products.

Merck employs 68,000 people around the world and generates annual revenues of more than $63 billion.

Source: Investor Presentation

On April 24th, 2025, Merck reported first quarter results. For the quarter, revenue declined 1.9% to $15.5 billion, but topped expectations by $170 million. Adjusted earnings-per-share was $2.22 compared to $2.07 the prior year and beat estimates by $0.08.

Keytruda, which treats cancers such as melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery and non-small cell lung cancer, continues to be the key driver of growth for the company as sales for the drug were higher by 4% to $7.2 billion during the period. The product generated $29.5 billion in 2024, up from $25 billion in 2023 and $20.9 billion in 2022.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MRK (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #4: Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)

Eli Lilly develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals around the world, and has about 47,000 employees globally. Eli Lilly has annual revenue of $59 billion.

On May 1st, 2025, Eli Lilly reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 45.2% to $12.7 billion, which was in-line with estimates.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.34 compared very favorably to adjusted earnings-per-share of $2.58 in the prior year, but this was $0.12 lower than expected.

Source: Investor Presentation

Volumes company-wide were up 53% for the period, but pricing was lower by 6%. U.S. revenue increased 49% to $8.49 billion, as volume was up 57% while pricing declined 7%. International revenues grew 38% to $4.24 billion as volumes improved 46%.

Revenue for Mounjaro, which helps patients with weight management and is the company’s top gross product, totaled $3.84 billion, up from $1.81 billion a year ago. Demand remains very high for the product.

Zepbound, which is also used to treat patients with obesity, had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter compared to just $517 million in the prior year. This product launched in November of 2023 and has seen impressive growth since.

Verzenio, which treats breast cancer, grew 10% to $1.16 billion.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on LLY (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #3: Pfizer Inc. (PFE)

Pfizer Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company focusing on prescription drugs and vaccines. Pfizer’s top products are Eliquis, Prevnar family, Paxlovid, Comirnaty, Vyndaqel family, Ibrance, and Xtandi. Pfizer had revenue of $63.6B in 2024.

Pfizer reported Q1 2025 results on April 29th, 2025. Company-wide revenue fell 8% operationally and adjusted diluted earnings per share climbed 12% to $0.92 versus $0.82 on a year-over-year basis.

The revenue decline was because of a steep drop in Plaxlovid sales on adjustments in prior years and manufacturer discounts from the IRA Medicare Part D Redesign, offset by growing revenue from the existing portfolio, and cost savings.

Global Biopharmaceuticals sales declined 8% led by a decrease in Primary Care (-20%), offset by gains in Specialty Care (+6%), and Oncology (+7%).

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PFE (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #2: Novo Nordisk (NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S ADR is a large global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark. The company focuses on two core business segments: Diabetes & Obesity Care and Rare Diseases.

The Diabetes & Obesity Care segment manufactures insulin, related delivery systems, oral anti-diabetic products, and products to treat obesity. The Rare Diseases segment manufactures products for hemophilia and other chronic diseases. Novo Nordisk derives ~92% of revenue from diabetes and obesity.

Novo Nordisk reported excellent Q1 2025 results on May 7th, 2025. Company-wide sales were up 19% in Danish kroner to and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) rose 15% on a year-over-year basis.

Diabetes & Obesity sales increased 21% driven by increases in Ozempic and Rybelsus (GLP-1), Wegovy (obesity), long-acting insulin, and fast-acting insulin, offset by lower sales for premix insulin, Saxenda (obesity), Victoza (GLP-1), and flat human insulin.

The Rare Disease segment sales rose 5% caused by rising rare blood and endocrine disorders drugs. The firm is expanding its blockbuster GLP-1 and obesity drugs to other indications and dosing sizes.

The company lowered its outlook to 13 – 21% sales growth and 16%- 24% operating profit growth in 2025.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on NVO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Healthcare Dividend Growth Stock #1: Becton Dickinson & Co. (BDX)

Becton, Dickinson & Co., or BD, is a global leader in the medical supply industry. The company generates almost $22 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 43% of revenues coming from outside of the U.S.

BD is composed of three segments. Products sold by the Medical Division include needles for drug delivery systems, and surgical blades. The Life Sciences division provides products for the collection and transportation of diagnostic specimens. The Intervention segment includes several of the products produced by what used to be Bard.

On May 1st, 2025, BD reported results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 4.5% to $5.3 billion, which was $50 million less than expected.

On a currency neutral basis, revenue increased 6%. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.36 compared favorably to $3.17 in the prior year and was $0.07 above estimates.

For the quarter, U.S. grew 7% while international was up 1.2% on a reported basis. Excluding currency exchange, international was higher by 4.8%. Organic growth was up 0.7% for the period.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on BDX (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Additional Reading

If you are interested in finding other high-yield securities, the following Sure Dividend resources may be useful:

High-Yield Individual Security Research

Other Sure Dividend Resources

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