3 Medical Device Stocks That Keep Raising Dividends. One Just Hit 55 Years

People still need syringes, glucose sensors, and replacement hips when the economy slows, and that steady demand is what lets the largest medical device makers keep raising their dividends. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT | ABT Price Prediction), Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) all turn that demand into a growing income stream. BD has the longest streak of the three, having just announced its 55th consecutive year of dividend increases. Yields in this group are modest. Retirees get a well-covered, growing payout, paid by companies whose products hospitals keep reordering.

Abbott Laboratories: 54 Years of Raises and a Promise of More

Abbott makes continuous glucose monitors for diabetics, heart rhythm devices, diagnostic tests, nutrition products, and branded generic drugs. With a recent share price of $110.50, the stock yields 2.18% on an annual dividend of $2.52 per share.

Dividend safety: Abbott’s record is about as strong as it gets. The current $0.63 quarterly payment marked the company’s 410th consecutive quarterly dividend and its 54th consecutive year of dividend increases, and Abbott belongs to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. The quarterly rate has gone from $0.51 in 2023 to $0.55, then $0.59, then $0.63. On coverage, the annual dividend works out to about 46% of the bottom of full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $5.45 to $5.60, leaving plenty of room. Management expects net debt to EBITDA of around 2 times, and the chief executive said the “last big tranche of debt paydown related to the St. Jude and Alere acquisitions” is due this year.

Bull case: Management has put the next raise on record. During the third quarter call, the chief executive said, “We’ll grow our dividend next year, right?” Abbott plans to spin off its nutrition business, and the CFO said both companies are expected to pay dividends that “when combined, will equal Abbott’s dividend at the time of the separation.” That means shareholders keep their income through the split. Operations are picking up too: third-quarter comparable sales rose 7%, and adjusted EPS came in at $1.42. The shares trade at 19 times forward earnings, sit 9.63% lower year to date, and have risen 13.25% over the past month.

Risk: The Exact Sciences acquisition is weighing on reported earnings. Second quarter net income dropped 47.8% to $928 million, and interest expense jumped to $299 million from $50 million. Trailing GAAP EPS of $2.68 barely covers the $2.52 dividend, so the safety case depends on adjusted earnings recovering as planned.

Stryker: Lowest Payout Ratio, Most Room for Raises

Stryker makes knee and hip implants, trauma hardware, surgical equipment and navigation systems, endoscopy gear, hospital beds and stretchers, and neurovascular devices. Its yield trails the other two at 1.13%, based on a $0.88 quarterly payment ($3.52 a year) and a recent share price of $325.02.

Dividend safety: This is the best-covered dividend in the group. The annual payout equals about 24% of the bottom of Stryker’s full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $14.80 to $14.90. Even against trailing GAAP EPS of $9.39, which includes a large loss, the dividend is easily covered. Stryker has raised its quarterly rate every year since 2010, from $0.15 then to $0.88 now. The most recent raises took it from $0.80 to $0.84, then to $0.88. It holds $3.27 billion in cash and $23.46 billion in shareholders’ equity.

Bull case: Stryker gives income investors growth more than yield today. Third-quarter organic sales grew 7.7%, with Endoscopy up 13.9%, and adjusted operating margin expanded by 60 basis points to 26.2%. The company also returns cash through buybacks. It bought back $1.0 billion of stock in the quarter, and the board approved another $3.0 billion. With such a low payout ratio, Stryker can keep raising the dividend for years without stressing its finances. The stock is valued at 19 times forward earnings, compared with 36 times trailing earnings, and has gained 16.83% over the past month.

Risk: Results slipped last quarter. Revenue of $6.52 billion fell short of the $6.62 billion consensus, and adjusted EPS of $3.52 missed expectations of $3.55. A $293 million goodwill impairment also hit the quarter, while Hips declined 1.0% and Knees grew only 1.1%. Watch whether the core joint business picks back up.

Becton Dickinson: 55 Straight Raises Funded by $2.9 Billion in Free Cash Flow

BD makes the everyday products of hospital care: syringes, needles, IV catheters, infusion pumps and medication management systems, plus prefillable syringes and injection pens it sells to drugmakers. It completed the spin-off of its Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions unit earlier this year and is now a more focused med-tech company. The stock yields 2.11% on a trailing dividend of $4.19 per share, and the recent price was $213.39.

Dividend safety: BD’s streak is the longest in this group. Management “announced our 55th consecutive year of dividend increases,” raising the quarterly payment to $1.06 from $1.05. Cash coverage is strong. Fiscal 2026 free cash flow reached $2.93 billion, and the $1.2 billion in dividends paid used about 41% of it. BD also paid down $2.4 billion of debt during the year and ended at 2.7 times net leverage.

Bull case: BD is turning more of its earnings into cash. Free cash flow conversion rose from about 57% to 74%, and management is aiming for 90% over time. In the fourth quarter, adjusted EPS of $4.15 beat the $4.07 estimate. Interventional grew 7.6%, and BioPharma Systems, which benefits from demand for GLP-1 injection pens, grew 6.5%. Fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance is $13.10 to $13.30, and at 15 times forward earnings, BD is the cheapest stock in the group even after rising 42.56% year to date.

Risk: The dividend is growing slowly. The latest raise was only one cent a share, because debt reduction and buybacks come first: BD bought back about $2.4 billion of stock last fiscal year. With fiscal 2027 revenue growth guided to low single digits, retirees should expect the streak to continue with small raises for now.

Medical Device Dividends That Keep Growing

These three companies fill different roles. Abbott combines a 54-year Aristocrat record with management’s stated plan to raise the dividend next year. Stryker pays out the smallest share of its earnings, which leaves the most room for future increases. BD has the longest streak and the lowest valuation, backed by nearly $3 billion in free cash flow. Together, they give retirees a medical device income stream with more than a century of combined dividend raises behind it (if 50-year raise streaks are your thing, we ranked ten more of them by valuation in a free Dividend Kings report here).

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