AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Key Points

• Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its AbbVie stake by 2.1% in the first quarter, selling 4,880 shares and leaving it with 223,125 shares valued at about $48.5 million.
• AbbVie reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.59 expected and revenue of $15 billion, up 12.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, payable on August 14, which annualizes to $6.92 per share and a 2.7% yield.

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT decreased its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,125 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,880 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT's holdings in AbbVie were worth $48,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company's stock worth $18,494,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock worth $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company's stock worth $5,900,617,000 after purchasing an additional 356,394 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $5,865,055,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock opened at $259.10 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.62 and a 1 year high of $261.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.64, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day moving average is $234.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.86.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 340.89%.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie NYSE: ABBV Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $234.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.10.

AbbVie Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.