AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Position Lessened by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,119,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,840 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.9% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.12% of AbbVie worth $554,454,000 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 company. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth approximately $132,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 8.6% in the third quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 2,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Banyan Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $737,000. Smith Partners Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 13.8% in the third quarter. Smith Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 13.4% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 108,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,300,000 after buying an additional 12,825 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.4%

ABBV stock opened at $294.93 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $302.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $274.15 and its 200 day moving average is $240.18. The stock has a market cap of $521.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.76, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The business had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 15th. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $258.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.46.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company 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.