5 Best Dividend Aristocrats to Buy for 2022

2. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Dividend Yield as of January 14: 4.15%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81

Number of Years of Dividend Increases: 50

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), an Illinois-based biopharmaceutical company, reported on January 11 that it expects $15 billion in sales revenue by 2025 for two of its signature drugs, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, meant to deal with inflammation and psoriasis. 

On October 29, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) declared a $1.41 per share quarterly dividend, reflecting an 8.5% increase from the prior dividend of $1.30. The dividend is payable on February 15 to shareholders of record on January 14. 

Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond on January 14 kept an Overweight rating on AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) with a $160 price target after the FDA approved Rinvoq with a “better than expected” atopic dermatitis label, and the analyst expects a $2.15 billion fiscal 2022 U.S. revenue estimate for Rinvoq.

In the third quarter of 2021, 81 hedge funds were long AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), with stakes amounting to $4.14 billion. Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the largest AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shareholder, with 14.3 million shares worth $1.55 billion. 

Here is what Miller Howard Investments has to say about AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“While optimistic about a recovery, we continue to balance our cyclical holdings with dividend-payers in stable, less economically-sensitive industries. We hold three pharmaceutical companies, (which includes) AbbVie (ABBV). All three have strong cash flows and balance sheets, making their high dividends reasonably safe. The investment controversy surrounding these pharma companies is whether they can develop or acquire new products to replace their current blockbuster drugs. The low valuations on these stocks reflects what we believe to be undue pessimism by investors on the prospects for new drugs.”