Yahoo Finance3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks Near Their 52-Week Lows to Buy and Hold

Investors looking for high-yield dividend stocks to buy now should turn their attention toward the healthcare sector: Three relatively reliable drugmakers are trading near their 52-week lows.
Their stock prices may have been beaten down, but it's more than likely that better days are ahead. Here's how these stocks could produce heaps of passive income for patient investors who buy now.
1. Pfizer
Shares of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have fallen about 55% from their early 2022 peak. At recent prices, they offer an eye-popping 6.2% dividend yield. In a nutshell, the stock tanked because sales of its COVID-related products fell much faster than expected.
Income-seeking investors will be glad to know that Pfizer knows how to manage through periods when sales of a few of its drugs are rapidly declining. The pharmaceutical giant has been able to raise its dividend payout every year since 2009, and this isn't the first time some of its largest revenue streams have suddenly dried up.
Despite declining sales of its COVID-19 products, management expects adjusted earnings of between $2.15 per share and $2.35 per share this year. That will be more than enough to cover a dividend payout currently set at $1.68 per share annually.
Investors can reasonably expect another 15 years of steady payout raises from Pfizer. The Food and Drug Administration approved a record nine new drugs for the company in 2023, and those aren't even its only new sources of revenue. In 2023, Pfizer acquired Seagen, a cancer drug developer with four commercialized therapies.
2. Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) stock is down about 22% from the all-time high it touched in 2021. In April, the drug and medical technology company raised its dividend payout for the 62nd year in a row.
J&J also experienced COVID-19 product sales that fell as quickly as they rose, but that didn't prevent it from raising its dividend payout by 30.5% over the past five years. At recent prices, shares of Johnson & Johnson offer a nice 3.4% yield.
Shareholders can look forward to more significant payout bumps. Last year, Johnson & Johnson completed the spin-off of its relatively slow-growing consumer goods segment into a new company named Kenvue. This year, management expects adjusted earnings per share to rise by 7.7% at the midpoint of its guidance range.
A lot could happen over the next 62 years, but investors can reasonably expect at least another decade of significant dividend growth from J&J as its various businesses thrive. For example, in the first quarter, sales of the company's Impella heart pumps soared 15% year over year, and there aren't any competing devices on the horizon.