AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its stake in AbbVie by 8.0%, buying 18,026 shares to hold 243,682 shares worth $55.68 million, making AbbVie about 0.6% of QRG’s portfolio and its 23rd largest holding.
• Institutional ownership of AbbVie stands at 70.23%, with large moves including Worldquant Millennium Advisors boosting its position 117.3% to 1,135,034 shares (≈$210.7M), signaling strong institutional interest.
• Analysts give AbbVie a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $252.90 target; the company recently beat quarterly EPS/revenue estimates and declared a $1.73 quarterly dividend (3.3% yield).

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,682 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,026 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 0.6% of QRG Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $55,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 5.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company's stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 4.6% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company's stock worth $22,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 117.3% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company's stock worth $210,685,000 after purchasing an additional 612,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $275.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $299.00 to $294.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.90.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE ABBV opened at $208.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $367.78 billion, a PE ratio of 102.46, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.57 and a 1 year high of $244.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $214.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.49.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 911.57% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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