If you’re an investor who likes fat dividends during tough times (and who doesn’t), then you should own pharmaceutical stocks. Drug companies have traditionally been a safe haven during economic downturns. In fact, the S&P Pharmaceuticals Index lost only 3% of its value during the 2008-2009 stock-market collapse, compared with a 31% loss for the S&P 500 in the same period.

Pharmaceutical stocks tend to be more recession-resistant because of steady demand for prescription medicines, which is growing 5% a year due to an aging population in developed countries and rising health care spending in emerging markets such as India and China. The bigger drug companies generate lots of cash flow, steady dividend growth and carry healthy dividend yields.

The main hurdle facing pharmaceutical stocks right now is patent expirations on some big-name prescription drugs. Investors worry these companies won’t be able to turn out new drugs quickly enough to maintain high margins. However, many of these expirations are years away. In the meantime, the big pharmaceutical companies are stepping up merger activity, particularly in the biotech sector, and acquiring new blockbuster drugs. Also, even if some medicines lose patent protection, the larger drug companies would still have many other products that generate billions of dollars in sales, and plenty of cash to cover future dividend payments.

Here are four high-yield pharmaceutical stocks that are worth considering.

1. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
Yield: 3.4%
Johnson & Johnson is a pillar of steady performance. The company has increased earnings 27 years in a row and raised dividends for 49 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson’s share price has suffered recently due to quality control failures that resulted in product recalls, but the company still has major brand recognition with names like Band-Aid, Tylenol and Visine. Johnson & Johnson also has a diverse mix of prescription and consumer products and is in the process of strengthening its medical-device product line through the $21 billion merger with Synthes.

Johnson & Johnson has produced a return on equity (ROE) averaging 25.7% during the past decade, while holding long-term debt low at just under 27% of equity. The company’s last dividend increase came in April, when the annual payment rate rose 6% to $2.28 per share. The company’s dividend payout is reasonable at 49% of earnings. With decades of dividend growth and a substantial yield, Johnson & Johnson still offers solid growth prospects for the long- term.

2. Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS)
Yield: 3.2%
Novartis owns a broad portfolio of prescription drugs, as well as Sandoz, the second-largest generic drug maker, and a large consumer eye-care product business (Alcon). In the past five years Novartis has almost doubled earnings and grown dividends by nearly 15% a year. The latest dividend hike was a 5% increase in February.

Novartis’ long-term debt is manageable, at just 22% of equity. In addition, the dividend payout is easily sustainable, currently at 48% of earnings. Novartis has a rich pipeline, although the pending expiration of its blood pressure drug Diovan ($6 billion in annual sales) creates near-term risk. Still, the company has nearly 150 new drugs in development and a potential blockbuster with Gilenya, a new treatment for multiple sclerosis. Novartis is another stock worth holding for long-term dividend growth.

3. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)
Yield: 4.0%
Pfizer is the world’s largest drug maker in terms of sales, producing prescription drugs like Lipitor and Viagra as well as over-the-counter products like Advil pain reliever and Centrum multivitamins. The company plans to sell or spin off its animal health and baby food businesses — which could together fetch more than $16 billion — and reinvest the proceeds in share repurchases and new drug development. Pfizer loses patent protection on Lipitor, which brought in $10.7 billion and was the best-selling drug in the world in 2010, later this year, but has three drugs in late-stage development (blood thinner Apixaban, lung-cancer drug Crizotinib and rheumatoid-arthritis drug Tofacitinib), which together may add $3 billion to yearly sales by 2015.

Pfizer had a 10-year record of steady dividend growth until the company cut the dividend in 2009 to fund its purchase of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Since then, Pfizer has raised the dividend  by 25%. The last increase was 11%, in February. The company has a low ratio of long-term debt-to-equity, at 39%, but fairly high 70% payout rate. Still, with cash exceeding $3.00 per share, Pfizer can easily afford its $0.80 yearly dividend payment.

4. Abbot Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)
Yield: 3.6%
Profitable products such as arthritis drug Humira and Simlac infant formula have helped Abbott post 39 straight years of dividend gains. In the world’s emerging markets, Abbott holds the No. 2 market share in nutritional products. The company greatly expanded its presence in India last year by acquiring that country’s largest pharmaceutical business (Piramel).

Despite more than doubling earnings during the past five years and growing the dividend by 11% a year, Abbott’s share performance has lagged the overall market, gaining only 11% in the past 12 months. The company is highly profitable, with a five-year ROE averaging 22.6%. Abbott has an “AA”-rated balance sheet and a moderate payout 61% ratio. The last dividend increase was 9% in April, bringing the dividend to a $1.92 annual rate. Analysts forecast 9% annual growth in earnings for the next five years, which makes future dividend gains likely.

Action to take–> My top pick for conservative investors is Johnson & Johnson because of its steady growth and diversified business mix. Aggressive investors should look more closely at Pfizer, which plans to boost shareholder returns by monetizing its noncore businesses.

P.S. — If you’re an income investor, why would you buy a stock yielding 2% when you can find one paying 26% right here? Watch this presentation for more.