5 Best DRIP Stocks To Buy in 2022

2. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82

Dividend Yield as of April 25: 3.64%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers investors the option to purchase additional shares, commission-free, through a dividend reinvestment or optional cash investments as part of its dividend reinvestment plan. Moreover, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) has increased its dividends by more than 250% since 2013 and is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index. The stock is among the top DRIP stocks to buy in 2022.

This February, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) released a report which detailed the company’s earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2021. The company registered an EPS of $3.31, beating expert estimates by $0.03. Moreover, the company’s revenues grew 7.42% year over year and came to $14.89 billion. On February 17, 2022, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.41 per share of common stock which is payable on May 16, to investors of record on April 15.

On April 12, 2022, Barclays analyst Carter Gould raised his price target on AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) to $174 from $150 and reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the shares.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is rising in popularity among elite hedge funds. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, 82 hedge funds held long positions in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) with stakes of $374.43 million. Of these, Berkshire Hathaway was the top stakeholder, owning over 3 million shares of stock which make up 0.12% of Warren Buffett’s hedge fund portfolio.

Miller Howard Investments, an investment management firm, published its third-quarter 2021 investor letter in which it mentioned AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV). Here is what the firm had to say:

“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.”