NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's no secret that emerging markets are growing faster than developed markets. To wit, the world's largest hedge fund is betting big on emerging markets. But what you might not know is that emerging market growth is not occurring equally in all sectors. Global health care growth is outpacing global GDP growth.

As GDP increases, more people are lifted out of poverty. This increases life expectancy and creates higher demand for health care as the elderly population (which requires more healthcare spending than younger age groups) outpaces total population growth. The global percentage of people over 60 is around 12% today. By 2050, the United Nations expects it to be over 20%. Combining the trends of an aging population and increased health care spending with rapid growth in emerging markets shows a clear investment thesis: invest in emerging market health care.

There is one U.S. stock that has positioned itself to take advantage of emerging market health care growth better than others. This company is Abbott Laboratories (ABT) - Get Report . Abbott currently generates 50% of its revenue in the emerging market health care sector, and 70% of total revenue outside the United States. Abbott is the leader in worldwide nutrition, the biggest pharmaceutical company in India, as well as a top 10 pharmaceutical company in Latin America. Further, this company's stock has paid increasing dividends for an amazing 43 consecutive years and is expected to grow earnings-per-share around 10% a year over the next several years. Abbott Laboratories high growth rate and long dividend history make it a favorite of The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing.

Business Overview

Abbott Laboratories' operations are divided into four segments:

• Nutrition: 34% of total revenue
• Diagnostics: 23% of total revenue
• Established Pharmaceuticals: 16% of total revenue
• Medical Devices: 27% of total revenue

Abbott Laboratories diversified health care model help it to exploit the highest return opportunities across the health care industry.

Growth Potential

Abbott Laboratories has positioned itself to take advantage of emerging market growth. Some 50% of the company's revenue comes from emerging markets. About 30% of revenue comes from the U.S., and 20% from other developed nations.

An example of the company's focus on emerging markets is its recent repositioning of its established pharmaceutical portfolio. The company sold its developed market pharmaceutical business to Mylan (MYL) - Get Report for $5.3 billion. Abbott also recently acquired both CFR Pharmaceuticals (based in Latin America) and Veropharm (based in Russia). After these moves, Abbott Laboratories now generates 100% of its established pharmaceutical sales in emerging markets.

The U.S. dollar has risen considerably over most other currencies in the past year. As a result, Abbott Laboratories is expecting only 6% to 11% earnings-per-share growth in full fiscal 2015. Without currency headwinds, the company will likely grow earnings-per-share at 10% to 15% a year. This strong growth is due to the dual trends of rising GDP in emerging markets and an aging population.

Dividend Analysis

Abbott Laboratories currently has a dividend yield of 2%. While not overly impressive, this is a higher dividend yield than the S&P 500 currently has. Abbott Laboratories currently has a payout ratio of about 42% using the company's more accurate adjusted-earnings-per-share numbers. This gives Abbott Laboratories plenty of room to grow its dividend payments even faster than overall company growth for the next several years.

The company hiked its dividend payments 57% in 2014, and another 9% in 2015. Based on the company's low payout ratio and strong growth prospects, I expect Abbott Laboratories to increase its dividend payments by at least 10% a year over the next several years.

Valuation

Abbott Laboratories currently has a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.7 using the company's adjusted-earnings-per-share numbers. The company appears fairly valued at this time. With a dividend yield of 2% and an expected growth rate of around 10% a year, shareholders should expect total returns of around 12% a year from Abbott Laboratories. Investors should not expect significant long-term gains from a rise in the company's price-to-earnings-ratio.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held ABT.