5 Best Dividend Leaders to Buy According to Hedge Funds

2. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80

Dividend Yield as of February 3: 4.06%

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. It is one of the best dividend leaders to invest in. On October 28, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) declared a $1.48 per share quarterly dividend, a 5% increase from its prior dividend of $1.41. The dividend is payable on February 15, to shareholders of record on January 3. 

On January 26, Chris Schott, an analyst at JPMorgan, said that the recent decline in AbbVie’s stock is a chance to purchase shares. The analyst believes that the company’s 2023 guidance, which will be announced on February 9, will lead to an expansion of its multiple. As the focus shifts from declining earnings to promising growth prospects in 2025 and beyond with limited loss of exclusivity, the analyst sees a clear path for growth. Despite the recent drop in stock prices due to weak oncology guidance, JPMorgan remains optimistic about AbbVie’s future and continues to recommend an Overweight rating with a target price of $190.

According to Insider Monkey’s Q3 data, 80 hedge funds were long AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), compared to 71 funds in the earlier quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 3.2 million shares worth $431.60 million. 

Alger Capital made the following comment about AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a global biopharmaceutical company that develops and markets drugs in areas such as immunology. virology and oncology. Recently, the company expanded through the acquisition of Allergan, which added robust growth assets to help offset the loss of U.S. patent protection for Humira, a leading treatment used for rheumatology, dermatology. gastroenterology, and ophthalmology. While AbbVie reported weak third quarter revenues across the board, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Vraylar (an antipsychotic treatment) in December. Despite concerns around Humira’s loss of patent protection, we believe AbbVie has significantly diversified its revenue and that its launch of Rinvog for psoriatic arthritis and atopic dermatitis could be promising.”