Don’t ignore this drugmaker simply because it’s been unable to come up with a full replacement for Lipitor.
Pfizer (PFE -0.39%) may not be the must-have pharmaceutical investment it was at one point. If your priority is reliable divided income, however, the drugmaker remains a rock-solid pick. Not only has it paid a dividend like clockwork for decades, the company has regularly raised its annual payout in recent years. Now that the dividend is well established, this streak isn’t apt to end in the foreseeable future.
Today’s Pfizer is built to drive dividends
You know the company perhaps better than you realize. Blockbuster drugs like cancer-fighting Ibrance, pneumonia vaccine Prevnar, and blood-thinner Eliquis are all part of Pfizer’s portfolio.
None of them hold a candle to Pfizer’s (and the world’s) best-selling drug of all time, of course. That’s anti-cholesterol treatment Lipitor, which finally lost its patent protection in late 2011. The company has not been quite the same since, unable to replace Lipitor’s revenue with any single drug. The stock has lagged accordingly.
Pfizer’s large lineup of lesser-known drugs, however, is actually quite advantageous — they face less competition, yet still enjoy the marketing firepower that only a name like Pfizer can offer. Even ignoring Pfizer’s COVID-19-driven revenue from Paxlovid and the coronavirus vaccine co-developed with BioNTech, this company’s top and bottom lines have held steady since the expiration of Lipitor’s patent.
That’s chiefly why Pfizer has been able to increase its annual dividend payment for 15 consecutive years. With such a strong track record now in place, don’t be surprised to see the pharmaceutical giant continue raising its yearly payout.
How to earn $1,000 in yearly dividends from Pfizer
That annual payout presently stands at $1.68 per share (or $0.42 per quarter), by the way, translating into a yield of 6%. That’s one of the higher yields you’ll see among pharmaceutical stocks. To earn $1,000 worth of yearly dividend income from an investment in this company, you would need to purchase nearly 600 shares of Pfizer stock at a current cost of nearly $16,700.
Regardless of the cost, Pfizer remains one of the market’s more attractive dividend stocks.
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends BioNTech Se. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.