1 Top Dividend Stock to Buy for a Lifetime of Passive Income

There are hundreds of dividend stocks on the market, but they don't all offer the same level of security. Some haven't increased their payouts in years. Others may provide irregular dividend hikes, which will likely stop if the economy tanks or company-specific issues hit. Still others have cut their payouts in recent years.

These aren't the kind of stocks income seekers are looking for. Instead, dividend investors want corporations that consistently raise their payouts, preferably every year, and are unlikely to stop even when they face headwinds.

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One company that has what it takes to do that is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Here's why this longtime dividend payer is worth holding on to for good.

Looking at Johnson & Johnson's challenges

Let's start with the bear case for Johnson & Johnson. Over the past few years, it has dealt with several issues. We'll consider three.

First, it is still facing a litany of lawsuits related to talc-based products that allegedly gave consumers cancer. The company recently failed to put a lid on most of these lawsuits when a judge stopped its attempt to settle with most plaintiffs. So it looks like this headwind will continue.

Image source: Getty Images.

Second, recent regulatory changes in the U.S. could eventually hurt its revenue. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now has the authority to negotiate the prices of some of the drugs Medicare spends the most on. The first round of negotiations features three of J&J's medicines: Blood thinner Xarelto, immunosuppressant Stelara, and blood-cancer medicine Imbruvica. All will see significant price cuts for Medicare patients.

Third, the company has dealt with relatively slow revenue growth. However, despite all that, Johnson & Johnson looks like an attractive long-term option for dividend-seekers.

Keep calm and stay the course

J&J didn't get to be one of the largest healthcare companies in the world by accident. The company has constantly developed newer and better products in its pharmaceutical and medical-technology businesses. It boasts a deep lineup of medicines across several therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, infectious diseases, and neuroscience. It has more than 10 drugs that each generate more than $1 billion in annual sales.

Its med-tech unit is also diversified across several areas. Its pipeline features several dozen programs. And the drugmaker constantly earns brand-new approvals or label expansions. In other words, it has an incredibly robust underlying business that's well equipped to handle the challenges it faces.

The price cuts for Xarelto, Stelara, and Imbruvica will only take effect next year. And even then, they will have a minimal impact on the company's results because none of these drugs feature in its long-term growth plans. Sales of Stelara and Imbruvica are already declining due to competitive pressure (from generics or otherwise). And while Xarelto's revenue moved in the right direction in the first quarter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first generic of this medicine.

There will be more Medicare price negotiations, and nobody knows yet which drugs they will target. But in the long run, Johnson & Johnson should be able to handle this problem. It can avoid price negotiations by decreasing its exposure to therapies for which Medicare -- a program for the elderly -- spends the most.

And that's just one possibility, which the company's deep pipeline and ability to generate consistent cash flow should allow it to do. J&J has been around for more than 100 years; it's had to deal with changes in regulatory regimes before.

Although the company's revenue growth has been slow, its recent decision to spin off its consumer health unit to focus on its biopharma and med-tech segments was partly to address that problem. Expect stronger revenue growth as it focuses more on higher-growth opportunities within its two remaining units.

Lastly, Johnson & Johnson has a higher credit rating than the U.S. government. Even the barrage of lawsuits has not changed that, which is strong evidence that it has the financial capabilities to handle these challenges. A previous judge shot down J&J's attempt to settle these lawsuits via a bankruptcy maneuver for one of its subsidiaries, partly because the company's robust financial position does not put it at risk of insolvency despite the lawsuits it faces.

What about the dividend? Johnson & Johnson is a Dividend King with 62 years of consecutive payout increases under its belt. The healthcare leader should continue hiking its dividend, which now yields a market-beating 3.4% yield, for a long time.

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Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.