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Why AbbVie (ABBV) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

AbbVie in Focus

Based in North Chicago, AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) is in the Medical sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 1.4%. The drugmaker is paying out a dividend of $1.18 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 5.26% compared to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry's yield of 2.25% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.6%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $4.72 is up 10.3% from last year. In the past five-year period, AbbVie has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 22.18%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. AbbVie's current payout ratio is 51%, meaning it paid out 51% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

ABBV is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is $10.46 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 17%.

Bottom Line

From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, ABBV is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).


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