First Foundation Advisors Has $1.80 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

First Foundation Advisors raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,866 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.32. 4,293,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,948,018. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.02. The stock has a market cap of $304.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.85 and a 12 month high of $182.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.31.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.