How would you like to get paid every quarter (and sometimes every month) to own a stock? That's exactly what happens when you invest in dividend stocks. Sometimes, the amount you are paid to own these stocks can be very attractive.

Three Motley Fool contributors believe they've found stocks you can buy right now that have mouthwatering dividends. Here's why they picked AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

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A top dividend stock for the long haul

Prosper Junior Bakiny (AbbVie): Several factors make for an above-average dividend stock. AbbVie, a pharmaceutical company, checks many of those boxes. Consider the company's forward yield, which currently tops 3.5% versus the 1.3% average for the S&P 500. Although a stock can be attractive for dividends with a relatively low yield, income seekers often like juicy ones, and AbbVie's is.

We can also point to AbbVie's fantastic track record. The company is a Dividend King with an active streak of 53 consecutive payout increases. That suggests AbbVie is unlikely to slash its payouts anytime soon, as doing so would force the company to start the streak from scratch and maybe rejoin this exclusive club in another 50 years. Of course, AbbVie might be forced to cut its dividends if the business faces significant headwinds. However, that's yet another area where the company excels, which makes it a top dividend stock.

AbbVie is a leading drugmaker with a deep lineup of products that generate consistent revenue and earnings. Some of the company's medicines continue increasing their sales at a good clip. AbbVie's two biggest growth drivers are Skyrizi and Rinvoq, a pair of immunology medicines. These therapies have surprised even the company's management, which recently increased Skyrizi and Rinvoq's combined 2027 guidance by $4 billion to more than $31 billion.

AbbVie's lineup features several other key products, including its Botox franchise. And although it will face patent cliffs, as every drugmaker does, AbbVie also has a deep pipeline of investigational compounds that will eventually allow it to move beyond its current crop of therapies. All these things (and more) make AbbVie an attractive dividend stock. Income investors can safely add shares of the company to their portfolios and hold on to them for a long time.

Bristol Myers stock pays 5% and has underrated growth potential

David Jagielski (Bristol Myers Squibb): A dividend stock that income investors might want to consider loading up on right now is that of pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb. It currently yields 5.1%, which is a higher-than-typical payout for this top healthcare company. At such a high yield, you may be concerned that it's unsustainable, but that's not the case.

The company's fundamentals are sound. In the trailing 12 months, Bristol Myers generated free cash flow totaling $13.1 billion, which is more than double the amount it has paid out in cash dividends during that stretch ($4.9 billion). In each of the past four years, Bristol Myers' free cash flow has totaled at least $11 billion.

The company has been struggling with growth in recent years due to rising competition and the loss of patent protection on key drugs. But its growth portfolio has been giving investors a reason to remain optimistic. Through the first three months of the year, its non-legacy products generated year-over-year growth of 18% when excluding foreign exchange.

Bristol Myers has been a solid name in healthcare for years, and while it's facing adversity, it's still growing. Last year, it obtained approval for schizophrenia drug Cobenfy, which may generate peak sales of up to $10 billion, according to some analysts.

At 18 times trailing earnings, this can be a great, cheap dividend stock to add to your portfolio today.

A safer dividend than initially meets the eye

Keith Speights (Pfizer): Investors are right to be at least somewhat skeptical when they see a stock with a super-high dividend yield. For example, Pfizer's forward dividend yield is 7.38%. Is a dividend cut on the way for the big pharmaceutical company? I don't think so.

Granted, Pfizer's dividend payout ratio of 122.5% might seem worrisome. However, the company generates enough free cash flow to cover its dividend at the current level. The amount of free cash flow could also increase as a result of Pfizer's cost-cutting initiatives. The drugmaker's dividend is safer than initially meets the eye, in my view.

I believe Pfizer's underlying business is also stronger than it might look at first glance. It's easy to focus only on the negatives. There are several, including a steep decline in COVID-19 product sales, some notable pipeline setbacks, the upcoming loss of exclusivity for multiple top-selling drugs, and the Trump administration's threats of tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.

But Pfizer has plenty of positives that offset those negatives. For one thing, I think its valuation more than reflects all the challenges, with shares trading at only 8 times forward earnings. The company also has several new products with fast-growing sales and a robust pipeline.

Should you invest $1,000 in AbbVie right now?

Before you buy stock in AbbVie, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AbbVie wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

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See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer. Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Make money without even trying: That's what passive income is all about. But good investment alternatives are required to make this "easy" money.

Three Motley Fool contributors believe they have found some great dividend stocks that fit the bill. Here's why they think Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are magnificent stocks that are passive income machines.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

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A dividend stock you can buy and (almost) forget about

David Jagielski (Abbott Laboratories): When picking a top dividend stock to hold in your portfolio, you want to consider a company that not only has a solid track record for making payouts but that also has solid fundamentals. The former helps demonstrate its commitment to rewarding shareholders, while the latter ensures that it has the capacity to continue doing so.

Abbott Laboratories has been paying a dividend going back more than 100 years, to 1924. And it has also been increasing its dividend annually for more than 50 consecutive years. Investors have become accustomed to not only receiving a dividend from this stock every quarter, but also seeing their dividend income rise over the years.

The diversified healthcare company currently pays its shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.59, and that has risen by 146% over the past 10 years. That averages out to a compound annual growth rate of 9.4%. The stock's 1.8% dividend yield may look modest, but the likelihood of further rate hikes is why it can make for a great long-term buy.

What's also attractive about Abbott's business is that it has diverse operations, which makes it less dependent on any one particular business unit. It has segments related to nutrition, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

The company has generated stable and solid results, with its top line coming in at more than $40 billion in each of the past four years. And with strong free cash flow of $6.7 billion over the trailing 12 months (more than the $3.9 billion it paid out in dividends during that time frame), it's in an excellent position to continue growing its dividend for the foreseeable future.

A drugmaker that's proved its resilience

Keith Speights (AbbVie): Abbott Labs spun off AbbVie as a separate entity in 2013. It inherited its parent company's outstanding track record of dividend increases and has kept the streak going. The big drugmaker has increased its dividend for an impressive 53 consecutive years.

Even better, AbbVie's dividend program is quite generous. The company's forward dividend yield stands at 3.64%.

What I like most about AbbVie, though, is its resilience. After the spinoff, management knew that it was only a matter of time before key patents for its autoimmune disease drug Humira would expire. The company was heavily dependent on Humira's sales.

However, AbbVie invested heavily in research and development. It made strategic acquisitions, notably including the 2020 purchase of Allergan. Those efforts paid off.

Today, the company's lineup features multiple growth drivers that more than offset Humira's sales decline that began after the drug lost U.S. patent exclusivity in 2023.

AbbVie's greatest new success stories are its two successors to Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. These two autoimmune disease drugs should rake in combined sales of $31 billion by 2027, more than Humira achieved at its peak.

A seasoned dividend payer for all seasons

Prosper Junior Bakiny (Johnson & Johnson): In the past few years, Johnson & Johnson's solid performance has been somewhat overshadowed by its legal and regulatory issues. More recently, the threat of tariffs has created new challenges to overcome. Despite these problems, Johnson & Johnson remains an excellent passive income stock. Here are three reasons:

First, it's a leading healthcare company that makes most of its money thanks to its pharmaceutical business, although its medical device unit also contributes significantly. Healthcare is a defensive industry that performs relatively well even during challenging economic times. So, even if a recession eventually hits, as some investors fear, well-established and consistently profitable healthcare players like Johnson & Johnson will be much more resilient than those in most other industries.

Second, it has a rock-solid financial foundation. As evidence of the strength of its balance sheet, the drugmaker has an AAA rating from S&P Global. That's the highest available -- even higher than the U.S. government's.

Third, Johnson & Johnson has an impeccable dividend track record. The company has increased its payouts for 62 consecutive years, making it part of the elite clique of Dividend Kings. It might be facing some headwinds, but its solid business and expertise in the healthcare sector, coupled with significant financial flexibility, make it likely to overcome these obstacles. Meanwhile, the company should continue growing its dividends for many more years. That's why the stock is an excellent pick-up for income-seeking investors.

Should you invest $1,000 in AbbVie right now?

Before you buy stock in AbbVie, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AbbVie wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $635,275!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $826,385!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 967% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 12, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Any time is a great time to buy stocks -- if you pick the right stocks. That's true even in May, a month where some investors have traditionally opted to take a break from the stock market for the summer.

Three Motley Fool contributors think they've found no-brainer healthcare stocks to buy in May. Here's why they picked Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

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An unstoppable growth stock with plenty of runway

David Jagielski (Eli Lilly): One of the best growth stocks you can buy in the healthcare sector today is Eli Lilly. The company has experienced a surge in revenue in recent years, thanks in large part to its GLP-1 offerings, Zepbound and Wegovy, which are still in the early stages of their growth.

Just a few years ago, the company was coming off a lackluster performance in 2022, when sales totaled less than $29 billion and showed minimal growth from the previous year. Last year, however, its top line jumped to more than $45 billion, growing by 58% in a span of just two years.

It's no mystery why, either. Zepbound, which was approved as a weight loss treatment in late 2023, began contributing in a big way to the company's top line, generating $4.9 billion in revenue last year. Meanwhile, Mounjaro, which is approved for the treatment of diabetes, more than doubled its sales to $11.5 billion, becoming Eli Lilly's top-selling drug in the process. Trulicity, once the center of Eli Lilly's portfolio, fell by 26% with sales totaling $5.3 billion last year.

But with Eli Lilly focusing on a highly lucrative GLP-1 drug market, those gains can more than outweigh any declines that its other products experience. Currently, the company is working on what may be an even bigger opportunity: a weight loss pill. Late-stage trial results involving orforglipron have been encouraging, and it may obtain approval by next year.

Although Eli Lilly is worth $800 billion and may seem expensive, trading at over 75 times its trailing earnings, this growth stock looks unstoppable and could easily hit a $1 trillion valuation within the next year or two, given its impressive results.

Buy the dip on this excellent stock

Prosper Junior Bakiny (Novo Nordisk): It wasn't that long ago that Novo Nordisk seemed almost unstoppable. The Denmark-based pharmaceutical leader's revenue and earnings were flying high while it delivered market-crushing returns. That has changed over the past 18 months, or at least the part about superior stock market returns. Novo Nordisk encountered clinical setbacks with what were previously thought to be promising pipeline candidates.

However, there remain excellent reasons to invest in Novo Nordisk. The company is still a leader -- perhaps the leader -- in diabetes and obesity care. Despite recent clinical setbacks, the company's pipeline in this field is incredibly deep. There is an excellent chance Novo Nordisk will redeem itself in the next few years. Furthermore, Novo Nordisk's financial results remain strong. Perhaps some of that success was already baked into the stock price before the recent sell-off. But after dropping by almost 50% over the trailing-12-month period, Novo Nordisk's shares now look far more attractively priced.

Lastly, Novo Nordisk is developing products outside its core area of endocrine-related disorders. That's a great move, considering the increased competition in the weight management market, which, by the way, should still grow by leaps and bounds in the coming years. Novo Nordisk's pipeline features investigational drugs across various areas, including rare blood diseases, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, and others.

Novo Nordisk may have lagged behind the market over the past year, but it still has attractive long-term prospects. The stock looks like a no-brainer at current levels, at least for investors willing to hold on to its shares for a while.

This big biotech stock should continue beating the market

Keith Speights (Vertex Pharmaceuticals): You wouldn't know that the stock market has been in turmoil by looking at Vertex Pharmaceuticals' performance. The big biotech stock has soared roughly 24% year to date. I think Vertex will continue beating the market.

The main reason for my optimism over the near term is the tremendous commercial potential for Vertex's new pain medication, Journavx. This non-opioid drug won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on Jan. 30 for treating moderate to severe acute pain. Vertex already has strong early momentum with payers. I don't expect it will take long for Journavx to become a blockbuster drug for the company.

Journavx isn't the only reason I'm bullish about Vertex, though. The biotech innovator has another new product on the market: cystic fibrosis (CF) therapy Alyftrek. Vertex has the only approved therapies for treating the underlying cause of CF. Alyfrek offers a more convenient dosing than the company's current top-selling drug, Kaftrio/Trikafta. It should also be more profitable for Vertex because of its lower royalty burden.

Gene-editing therapy Casgevy hasn't moved the needle much for the company yet after securing FDA approvals for treating sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia in late 2023 and early 2024, respectively. However, the CRISPR gene-editing process Casgevy uses is complex. Vertex believes the commercial momentum is building and that Casgevy has a multibillion-dollar opportunity.

Don't overlook Vertex's pipeline, either. The company has four programs in phase 3 testing, all of which have the potential to be big winners. I'm especially watching the progress of zimislecel, an islet cell therapy that could cure severe type 1 diabetes. Success for zimislecel should bode well for VX-264, which doesn't require immunosuppressants and could be used in a larger patient population.

Should you invest $1,000 in Eli Lilly right now?

Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Eli Lilly wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $623,685!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $701,781!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 906% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 164% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025

David Jagielski has positions in Novo Nordisk. Keith Speights has positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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 (NYSE: ABT), AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

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.

Should you invest $1,000 in AbbVie right now?

Before you buy stock in AbbVie, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AbbVie wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie and Pfizer. Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.