Croban Takes $1.44 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Croban purchased a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.3% of Croban's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company's stock worth $30,754,908,000 after buying an additional 1,424,237 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company's stock worth $6,586,948,000 after purchasing an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,038,898,000 after acquiring an additional 778,126 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,824,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,878,236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,299,645 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $2.68 on Friday, hitting $192.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,990,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,302,947. The stock has a market cap of $339.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.98.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.29.

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.