There's no doubt that the aging population is one of the most powerful trends in the US economy. The US Census tallies some 75 million Baby Boomers, those aged 51-69 years, states Bob Ciura, editor of Daily Profit.

With thousands of people retiring each day in America, that huge swell of Baby Boomers likely means a long-term increase in health-care spending in the US.

For investors, this trend could be very profitable. Higher demand for health care is a strong tailwind for the health-care sector. A number of highly profitable, health-care dividend stocks stand to benefit from the growing population of elders.

Here are three companies that have significant businesses catering to the aging demographic; each is a large cap, dividend-paying blue-chip.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Abbott has four major businesses   ̶   nutrition, diagnostics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals   ̶   each of roughly equal size. Abbott is also growing through acquisitions. It bought out St. Jude Medical (STJ) this year for $25 billion.

Abbott has declared 370 consecutive quarterly distributions, going all the way back to 1924, and it has increased its dividend for 44 consecutive years, including an 8% bump last year.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

J&J is a health-care conglomerate. Roughly 70% of its revenue is derived from businesses that are No. 1 or No. 2 in their industries.

As a result, J&J grew its adjusted earnings for the past 31 years in a row, and earns a "AAA" credit rating from Standard & Poor's. It has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years.

Medtronic (MDT)

Like Abbott, Medtronic has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy. Last year’s massive $49 billion takeover of Covidien expanded Medtronic’s position in hospital supplies.

In June, Medtronic raised its dividend by 13%, the 39th consecutive annual dividend increase for Medtronic.

Abbott, J&J, and Medtronic yield 2.7%, 2.7%, and 2%, respectively. All three stocks are blue-chip health care giants that could realize significant future growth thanks to the aging population.

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By Bob Ciura, Editor of Daily Profit