AbbVie lifts its outlook

Article Excerpt

ABBVIE INC. $153 is a buy. The company (New York symbol ABBV; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $275.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.abbvie.com) makes biopharmaceuticals, with leading positions in immunology, oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience and eye care. AbbVie last raised your quarterly dividend with the February 2023 payment by 5.0%. The new annual rate of $5.92 a share yields 3.9%. Humira, AbbVie’s blockbuster autoimmune disorder drug, recently lost its patent protection. However, it has several promising new drugs in its development pipeline, including Rinvoq, which is used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease. The company expects to earn $11.00 a share in 2023, up from its earlier forecast of $10.77. The stock trades at 13.9 times that new forecast. AbbVie is buy. buy. …