5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley’s Quant Screen: In Retrospect

4. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Dividend Yield as of December 28: 3.65%

Quarterly Performance as of December 28: 12.19%

Total Expected Return: 42%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a global leader in the healthcare and biotech space. The company develops and markets innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases. At the end of Q3 2022, 80 hedge funds were bullish on AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and disclosed positions worth $1.86 billion in the company.

On October 28, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.48 per share, up 5% from the company’s prior dividend of $1.41. The dividend is payable on February 15 to investors of record on January 3. As of December 28, AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is offering a forward dividend yield of 3.65% and has gained 12.19% since September 30, 2022. Morgan Stanley’s quant screen suggests a further upside of roughly 40% over the next couple of months, and the stock is placed fourth on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy according to Morgan Stanley.

This November, Credit Suisse analyst Trung Huynh started coverage of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) with an Outperform rating and a $170 price target.

As of September 30, Arrowstreet Capital is the largest investor in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and has a position worth $431.6 million.

Here is what Baron Funds had to say about AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a drug developer best known for Humira, an immunosuppressant that is the best selling drug of all time. Given outsized key product risk (patent cliff and generic launches beginning in 2023), AbbVie has broadened its pipeline, highlighted by its Allergan acquisition. Shares fell on results that missed consensus and indications that legacy franchises were outperforming newer product launches, calling into question AbbVie’s long-term strategy. With promising assets in the pipeline and its robust cash flow profile, we believe AbbVie will grow well into the future.”