New drugs support this dividend

Article Excerpt

ABBVIE INC. $141 is a buy. The company (New York symbol ABBV; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $253.8 billion; Dividend yield: 4.2%; 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 4.2%. Humira, AbbVie’s blockbuster autoimmune disorder drug, recently lost its patent protection. However, it has several promising new drugs in its development pipeline, including treatments for Crohn’s disease and lupus. The company will probably earn $10.92 a share in 2023, and the stock trades at 12.9 times that forecast. AbbVie is buy. buy…