Not all dividend stocks are created equal. Some haven't slashed their payouts in years and probably won't anytime soon, while others aren't so lucky. One dividend-paying company recently decided to reduce its payouts: Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW). The healthcare-focused REIT just announced it was reducing its dividend by about 50%. The move wasn't surprising.

Medical Properties Trust's abnormally high dividend yield (it was in the low to mid teens) and financial problems -- caused by the challenging economic conditions and some of its tenants facing issues -- made this development predictable. Many dividend investors ran for the hills after Medical Properties Trust announced it was cutting its dividend. However, here's one stock they can invest in safely without being worried the same thing will happen again: (NYSE: MDT). Let's find out why. 

Every business runs into trouble. Medtronic is no different. Over the past three years, the company's operations ran into multiple hurdles. First, during the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgeries -- a key business for Medtronic to generate sales -- saw decreased volumes. Second, economic issues such as inflation, supply chain problems, labor shortages, and currency exchange dynamics took a bite out of top-line growth. Still, how has Medtronic performed throughout this ordeal?

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Source Fool.com