12 Great Healthcare Stocks for This Year and Beyond

The healthcare industry is vast and essential. The opportunities to invest in this segment are also vast and could play an essential role in helping buffer your portfolio against the ravages of inflation, which is here now, and recession, which always arrives eventually.

Here are 12 to consider.

5 Stocks Under $49

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The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) seeks to produce results that reflect the price and yield performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index, which includes direct service and technology providers, pharmaceutical and equipment manufacturers, and life sciences companies.

It's done well, returning about 328.1% over the past 10 years compared with about 278.2% in total return for the S&P 500. This healthcare stock is also yielding 1.44%, compared with about 1.27% for the S&P 500.

ALSO READ: Investing in Healthcare Stocks

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is a 173-year-old pharmaceutical giant whose name has become synonymous with COVID-19 vaccines. The company is a global developer and producer of medicines and vaccines for immunology, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, and neurology.

Pfizer stock has returned a healthy 272.4% over the past 10 years, on par with the S&P 500, and is yielding about 3.02%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) is a prominent landlord for life sciences companies like Pfizer and many more. This real estate investment trust (REIT) has lab space and office clusters and campuses in key markets in and around Boston, New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina's Research Triangle.

Alexandria stock has returned a healthy 258.4% over the past 10 years and is yielding about 2.40%.

ALSO READ: Real Estate Investment Trusts: What They Are and How to Invest in Them

Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SAGE) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel medicines for brain diseases and disorders, with a focus on depression, neurology, and neuropsychiatry. This is a classic growth stock, with wide swings in prices that follow successes and failures at getting potential blockbuster drugs approved and on the market.

The stock currently pays no dividends and is trading at about $33.17 a share, just off its 52-week low and well below its 52-week high of $81.00.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) is one of the largest private owners of hospitals in the world, with most of them in the United States. This REIT's portfolio of about 440 properties includes general acute care and behavioral hospitals. MPT has been a solid performer for years, with a 10-year total return of 292.4% that edges the S&P 500 and a nice current yield of about 5.82%.

5 Stocks Under $49

Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor

We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is one of the nation's largest healthcare companies and owner of the UnitedHealthcare and OptumRX health and pharmaceutical insurance and benefits operations, along with data and IT consultancy solutions.

It's near the top of the S&P 500 in annual revenue, and it's a stellar long-term performer, with a current dividend of about 1.16% and a 10-year total return of about 946.5% -- that's more than triple the S&P 500's over that time span.

ALSO READ: If You Invested $5,000 in UnitedHealth 10 Years Ago, This Is How Much You Would Have Today

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) is a diversified healthcare REIT with a portfolio that includes senior housing, medical offices, and medical research facilities. Of its approximately 1,200 properties, 819 are senior housing communities, and 16 are skilled nursing facilities -- businesses that really took it on the chin during the pandemic.

The company's 10-year overall return has dipped to about 89.98%, but after suspending the dividend for a couple of quarters in 2020, Ventas is now yielding about 3.07%.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is one of the world's largest designers and manufacturers of medical devices, including pacemakers and insulin pumps.

Medtronic has been good for shareholder health, too, providing a 10-year total return of about 234.8% and a current yield of 2.08% while trading at about $108.13 a share, well off its 52-week high of $135.89 from last Sept. 9.

ALSO READ: Better Buy: Intuitive Surgical vs. Medtronic

Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT) has a diverse portfolio of 73 properties in 21 states, including acute care and rehabilitation hospitals, medical offices, free-standing emergency departments, and childcare centers.

This REIT has raised its dividend for 37 straight years and posited a 10-year total return of about 134.6%, with a nice current yield of about 4.83%.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a household name and one of the nation's largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and consumer goods, including Band-Aids.

J&J stock also has a good name, providing a total return of 254.6% -- on pace with the S&P 500 -- and a yield of 2.43% to go along with its record of paying dividends for 60 straight years.

5 Stocks Under $49

Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor

We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS) sits near the top of the S&P 500 in annual revenue as the owner of the massive CVS Pharmacy chain, CVS Caremark pharmacy benefits manager, and Aetna health insurance.

CVS has reliably rewarded shareholders for years, with a 10-year total return of about 195.2% and a yield of about 2.06% from a dividend of $0.55 per share that it just raised a nickel after paying $0.50 a share since 2017.

ALSO READ: Investing in Pharmaceutical Stocks

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) delivers about a third of all pharmaceuticals in the country and is a major provider of medical supplies, health information technology, and care management tools.

The company's 10-year total return of 261.5% is close to the S&P 500's 278.2%. Despite 15 straight years of dividend increases, the yield is only about 0.65%, reflective of the value the market puts on this company's stock. McKesson stock has risen by about 18.25% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen by about 8.08%.

These equities represent a wide range of businesses and properties in the vast healthcare segment. Each presents its own case for buying and holding on because, after all, patience is a virtue when it comes to investing, especially in these volatile times.

Marc Rapport owns Alexandria Real Estate Equities and Medical Properties Trust. The Motley Fool recommends Alexandria Real Estate Equities, CVS Health, Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.