Investors love dividend stocks, especially the high-yield variety, because they offer a significant income stream and have massive total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation.
Let’s take a closer look at the concept of total return. Imagine you purchase a stock at $20 that offers a 3% dividend. If the stock price rises to $22 within a year, your total return is 13%. This is calculated by adding the 10% increase in stock price to the 3% dividend.

One sector investors have always turned to for dependable dividends and total return is healthcare, which is off to its best start versus the S&P 500 in 25 years. For years, conservative growth and income investors counted on some of the largest companies in the healthcare sector to deliver consistent total returns in what was considered a very safe area to invest. When growth slowed in the industry after COVID-19, investors moved to other sectors, and healthcare underperformed dramatically in 2024 and 2025.

That’s all changed this year, and the analysts at Raymond James remain optimistic on the prospects for the balance of 2025 and beyond. They noted in a recent report on healthcare:

• Valuations are below historical averages.
• The defensive characteristics of the sector are valuable amid increased volatility.
• Expected to have the strongest earnings-per-share growth of any sector in 2025.
• More insulted from tariff-related margin erosion compared to other sectors.

We checked our 24/7 Wall St. healthcare dividend stock research database, looking for the stocks with the most significant upside potential and the safest dividends. Four top companies look like outstanding ideas for investors looking to stay invested but worn out from the recent tariff-related volatility. All four are buy-rated at the top Wall Street firms we cover.

AbbVie

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is ranked sixth among the largest biomedical companies by revenue. This is one of the top pharmaceutical stock picks on Wall Street, with a solid dividend and an excellent choice for long-term ownership. AbbVie discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide.

The company offers:

• Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet’s diseases and pyoderma gangrenosum
• Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn’s disease
• Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease
• Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma
• Elahere to treat cancer
• Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.

It also provides:

• Facial injectables, plastics and regenerative medicine, body contouring, and skin care products
• Botox therapeuticraylar for depressive disorder
• Duopa and Duodopa to treat advanced Parkinson’s disease
• Ubrelvy for the acute treatment of migraine in adults
• Qulipta for episodic and chronic migraine

In addition, the company offers Ozurdex for eye diseases, Lumigan/Ganfort, and Alphagan/Combigan for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The company also offers Restasis to increase tear production and other eye care products.

Further, it provides:

• Mavyret/Maviret to treat chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1-6 infection
• Creon, a pancreatic enzyme therapy
• Lupron to treat advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis, and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids
• Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation
• Synthroid for hypothyroidism

Bristol-Myers Squibb

This global biopharmaceutical company is committed to discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) remains a solid pharmaceutical stock to own in the long term, offering an outstanding entry point. The company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, and markets pharmaceutical products worldwide.

The company offers products in:

• Hematology
• Oncology
• Cardiovascular
• Immunology therapeutic classes

Bristol-Myers Squibb products include:

• Revlimid, an oral immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma
• Opdivo for anti-cancer indications
• Eliquis, an oral inhibitor indicated for the reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF and for the treatment of DVT/PE
• Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis, as well as reducing signs and symptoms in pediatric patients with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis

The company also provides:

• Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia
• Yervoy for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma
• Abraxane, a protein-bound chemotherapy product
• Implicit for the treatment of multiple myeloma
• Reblozyl for the treatment of anemia in adult patients with beta-thalassemia

Truist Financial has assigned a Buy rating to the shares, with a target price of $64

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is an American multinational corporation specializing in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. It is among the most conservative major pharmaceutical companies with a diverse product portfolio and a familiar, solid brand. The company researches, develops, manufactures, and sells a range of healthcare products. Its primary focus is products related to human health and well-being.

It operates through two segments:

• Innovative Medicine
• MedTech

The Innovative Medicine segment is focused on various therapeutic areas, including:

• Immunology
• Infectious diseases
• Neuroscience
• Oncology
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Products in this segment are distributed directly to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.

The MedTech segment encompasses a diverse portfolio of products utilized in orthopedics, surgery, interventional solutions, cardiovascular intervention, and vision. It also offers a commercially available intravascular lithotripsy platform for the treatment of coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease.

Citigroup has a Buy rating with a $185 target price.

Merck

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) develops and produces medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products. This is a steadfast healthcare stock for conservative investors.. Merck also has a global presence and operates through two segments.

The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in:

• Oncology
• Hospital acute care
• Immunology
• Neuroscience
• Virology
• Cardiovascular
• Diabetes
• Vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines

The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, health management solutions and services, and digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products.

Merck serves:

• Drug wholesalers
• Retailers
• Hospitals
• Government agencies
• Managed healthcare providers, such as health maintenance organizations
• Pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions
• Physicians
• Physician distributors
• Veterinarians
• Animal producers

The company collaborates with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Eisai, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, and Gilead Sciences to jointly develop and commercialize long-acting treatments for HIV.

Four of Wall Street’s Most Beloved Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks Are Sale-Priced April Bargains

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.