AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Bought by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 276.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,995 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,295 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,961,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450,089 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,451,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,774,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,415 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $3,229,888,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in AbbVie by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,422,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,252,000 after buying an additional 2,390,239 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.28. 4,131,971 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,593,598. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.70 and a 1-year high of $182.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $165.23 and a 200 day moving average of $168.39.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a return on equity of 179.47% and a net margin of 11.02%. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.07.

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.