Got $200? 2 Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

What caught my attention is The science that backs healthcare breakthroughs is mind-bogglingly complex

If you don't specialize in the medical space, you should bably avoid small, re-driven healthcare stocks, in light of current trends

Why go with giants Medtronic and Merck, considering recent developments

Additionally, Tiny healthcare start-ups, bio companies, often have incredibly exciting nology backing their es

And if that nology pans out as hoped, the stocks can turn into huge winners

But there's always the risk that the expected medical breakthrough doesn't actually work out as expected

Furthermore, Moreover, When that happens, healthcare companies can go out of, leaving stockholders with nothing

Image source: Getty Images, in today's financial world

Additionally, This's why experts in healthcare and science are bably the only traders who should be looking at tiny healthcare companies that often have only one make-or-break duct

But industry giants Medtronic, in medical devices, and Merck, in pharmaceuticals, are a different breed, amid market uncertainty

On the other hand, They already have large portfolios of successful ducts

Furthermore, And they have large and well-funded re and development teams to develop new ducts

However, However, the really important differentiator is the acquisition of smaller es

Medtronic and Merck are both big enough to buy smaller companies with exciting new nologies

Additionally, These nologies often complement existing ducts that each company already owns

Or it allows them to break into a new market, in light of current trends

Nevertheless, The key is that Medtronic and Merck have strong es, and they supplement that strength by acting as industry consolidators

Additionally, You don't have to be up to date on all of the science because Medtronic and Merck are doing that for you

However, What's to these buy-and-hold healthcare giants

So these are attractive income generators in a sector and market that isn't generating a lot of income for investors

Second is the dividend record

Additionally, At the same time, Medtronic has increased its dividend for a huge 48 consecutive years

That's just two years shy of Dividend King

Merck's streak is up to 15 years, but it has a long history of offering a gressive dividend, even though it doesn't increase the dividend every single year, given the current landscape

That's not as impressive a story, but it is a demonstration that the board sees the dividend as highly important

Moreover, The third big reason to buy and hold Medtronic and Merck forever is more fundamental

Healthcare isn't optional

You have to seek out medical care when you are ill

At the same time, And as you age, you'll ly need more medical care

These two facts make these reliable dividend stocks into necessity es

Both have diversified duct portfolios and a long history of adjusting along with healthcare nology advances

They're no-brainer buys for dividend investors today

Medtronic and Merck are well-known companies, and their stock prices are a bit lofty

However, That may not seem a huge deal, but it gets you in on the ground floor of healthcare es that have ven themselves to be reliable income stocks and long-term success stories in a very competitive and complex industry.