5 Best Dividend Contenders to Buy for 2022

In this article, we discuss the 5 best dividend contenders to buy for 2022. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to 10 Best Dividend Contenders to Buy for 2022. 

5. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Number of Years of Dividend Increases: 10

Dividend Yield as of January 21: 3.41%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in California. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is a market leader in biotechnology, with a particular interest in molecular biology and biochemistry. The company leverages DNA technology to create medicines for chemotherapy and autoimmune diseases. 

On December 3, Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) declared a $1.94 per share quarterly dividend, which is a 10.2% increase from the prior dividend of $1.76. The dividend is payable on March 8, to shareholders of record on February 15. Offering a dividend yield of 3.41% as of January 21, Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is one of the top dividend contenders to buy for 2022. 

BofA analyst Geoff Meacham on January 5 downgraded Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $255, down from $285.

In the third quarter of 2021, 52 hedge funds were bullish on Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), with stakes totaling $1.4 billion. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors is the largest stakeholder of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) as of Q3 2021, with 1.85 million shares worth approximately $394 million. 

Here is what ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy has to say about Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“In health care, Amgen, a biotechnology company, has endured several pipeline setbacks recently, including a slow transition of its Lumakras treatment into first-line lung cancer, a slower than expected development of its treatment for myeloma as well as the company’s asthma treatment Tezepelumab missing its primary endpoint in a Phase III study. We remain positive on the stock, with Amgen’s investments in biosimilars and its pipeline part of our long-term thesis.”