AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Position Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 66.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,047,674 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 418,010 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 1.1% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.06% of AbbVie worth $206,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $221,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 220.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 608,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,758,000 after acquiring an additional 418,540 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 224,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,866,000 after purchasing an additional 92,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $183.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $323.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.57, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.65 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $188.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.59.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on AbbVie in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.50.

AbbVie 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.