#7 - AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV)
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is one of those stocks that perennially makes its name on a list of dividend aristocrats to buy. In the biopharmaceutical industry, it’s frequently said that it only takes one. That means, it only takes one blockbuster drug to take a company out of obscurity.
AbbVie has several drugs that meet that criteria. However, in recent years, that one drug has been Humira which is most notably used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
ABBV stock has been rangebound for much of the last two years as Humira faced biosimilar competition. However, the company is showing investors that it already has drugs like Skryrizi and Rinvoq that are helping mitigate any decline in Humira sales. That's pushing the stock to new all-time highs. And there could be more to come.
ABBV stock has delivered a total return of 261% in the last five years. Analysts see another 11% earnings growth in the next 12 months. And while the consensus view is that this growth is priced into the stock, that could change with future earnings reports.
About AbbVie
AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.
Read More - Current Price
- $164.91
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Ratings Breakdown
- 18 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $203.89 (23.6% Upside)
A criticism of dividend aristocrats is that, in many cases, they are defensive stocks. They shine brightly during times when market sentiment turns risk off. But, historically, they underperform bull markets. And during periods when investors are hungry for growth wherever they can find it, single-digit stock price growth is unappealing. Particularly when a stock like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is up more than 110% in the last 12 months (as of August 5, 2024).
While dividend stocks may lag growth stocks, a growing dividend can help close that gap when considering a stock's total return (stock price appreciation + dividend yield). And, by definition, dividend aristocrats have a history of not only paying dividends but increasing those dividends over time.
This doesn't guarantee that dividend aristocrats will outperform the market. But if you're playing the long game as many buy-and-hold investors do, it's worth your time to look for quality dividend aristocrats to add to your portfolio. You can find a list of the current dividend aristocrats on MarketBeat.com.
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