One of the best ways for investors to save for the future and retirement is to consistently invest money into tax-sheltered vehicles, whether it be a 401(k) plan or self-directed individual retirement account (IRA). For investors 35 to 45 years old and starting to make serious career money, Social Security is likely to still be there in their golden years, though the goalposts likely will be moved way back. So, pouring money into retirement savings accounts can help mitigate the worries about the future changes for Social Security, which for many is not enough to live on anyway.

One solid choice for investors self-directing their IRAs and Roth IRAs is to look at the Dividend Aristocrats. The 67 companies that made the cut for 2023 have increased dividends (not just remained the same) for 25 years straight. However, the requirements for membership go even further. Companies must:

• Be a member of the S&P 500.
• Be worth at least $3 billion at the time of each quarterly rebalancing.
• Have an average daily volume of at least $5 million in transactions for every trailing three-month period at every quarterly rebalancing date.

With the potential for serious market downside still looming, and interest rates definitely headed higher, we thought it would be a good idea to look for companies among the Dividend Aristocrats that pay among the largest dividends. These are stocks that investors can buy now and hold forever. While all are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

AbbVie

This is a top pharmaceutical stock pick across Wall Street. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company develops and markets drugs in areas such as immunology, virology, renal disease, dyslipidemia and neuroscience.

One of the biggest concerns with AbbVie is what might happen eventually with anti-inflammatory therapy Humira, which has some of the largest sales for a drug ever recorded. The company was concerned, so in June of 2019 it announced that it has agreed to pay $63 billion for rival drugmaker Allergan, the latest merger in an industry in which some of the biggest companies have been willing to pay a high price to resolve questions about their future growth. The purchase officially closed in May of 2020.

AbbVie may be nearing the limits of how far it can boost Humira’s price as cheaper competitors come to market, a problem Allergan is already grappling with as more alternatives to Botox emerge.

Shareholders receive a 3.93% dividend. Morgan Stanley has a Wall Street high target price of $178. AbbVie stock has a consensus target of $163, and shares ended Thursday trading at $152.07 apiece.