Hilltop Holdings Inc. Sells 25,986 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Hilltop Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 46.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,986 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ABBV. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.10.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $259.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.64, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.62 and a 52 week high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.