Big Institutions Grab ‘Strong Buy’ Dividend Stocks in a Sector Not Totally Driven by AI

Cardinal’s Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter health care and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and health care providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter health care products; and provides pharmacy management services to hospitals.

The Medical segment manufactures, sources and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical and laboratory products and devices. These include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products and electrode product lines.

The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical and laboratory products. It provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and other health care providers, and it assembles and sells sterile and non-sterile procedure kits.

The dividend yield here is 2.26%. Baird analysts have set a $108 target price. Cardinal Health stock has a consensus target of $97.65, and Friday’s closing print was $88.78.

Gilead Sciences

This stock is trading at a very reasonable 11 times estimated 2023 earnings and has big-time upside potential. Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/Eviplera, Stribild and Atripla products for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vosevi, Vemlidy and Viread for the treatment of liver diseases. It also offers Yescarta, Tecartus, Trodelvy and Zydelig products for the treatment of hematology, oncology and cell therapy patients.

In addition, Gilead provides Letairis, an oral formulation for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension; Ranexa, an oral formulation for the treatment of chronic angina; and AmBisome, a liposomal formulation for the treatment of serious invasive fungal infections.

Gilead has collaboration agreements with Arcus Biosciences, Pionyr, Tizona, Tango Therapeutics, Jounce Therapeutics, Galapagos, Janssen, Japan Tobacco, Gadeta, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and Novo Nordisk.

Gilead Sciences stock investors receive a 4.06% dividend. The $100 Piper Sandler price objective is one of the highest on Wall Street. The consensus target is just $84.44, and Friday’s closing share price was $76.00.

Medtronic

This medical technology giant is a solid pick for investors looking for a safe position in the health care sector. Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) develops, manufactures, distributes and sells device-based medical therapies to hospitals, physicians, clinicians and patients worldwide.

Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; Tyrx products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software. It also provides aortic valves, surgical valve replacement and repair products, endovascular stent grafts and accessories and transcatheter pulmonary valves, as well as percutaneous coronary intervention products, and percutaneous angioplasty balloons and products.

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