AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,738 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 44,988,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,971,796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542,463 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,451,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,774,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,415 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,229,888,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,422,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,252,000 after buying an additional 2,390,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,018,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,582,000 after buying an additional 217,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 2.4 %

ABBV traded down $4.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $171.14. 5,940,953 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,570,069. The firm has a market cap of $302.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.77 and a 200 day moving average of $168.82.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 179.47% and a net margin of 11.02%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.69.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.