Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 511,060 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,249 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $107,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $187.06. 5,728,909 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,227,638. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.88. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $330.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.