AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stock Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,134 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $24,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 3,060.0% in the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Argus lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. HSBC increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $244.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $290.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.46.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat expectations, with revenue of $17.4 billion, and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook. The earnings report has strengthened the growth case for the shares. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: A licensing agreement with Nxera Pharma for an EP4 agonist gives AbbVie another potential inflammatory bowel disease treatment candidate. The deal may add to its pipeline as investors assess the durability of its newer growth drivers. Nxera licenses EP4 agonist to AbbVie
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie recently reached a fresh high following its earnings beat and a dividend increase, while analysts remain broadly optimistic. This supports investor interest in the stock as a defensive healthcare name. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie’s shares have already climbed substantially and are near their 52-week high, leaving less room for disappointment. Humira’s decline also means the company must continue demonstrating that newer products can sustain growth. The one thing to settle before buying AbbVie stock

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,607,500. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock opened at $291.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $271.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.04. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $302.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.17, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The company had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be issued a $1.82 dividend. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.30%.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.