iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 11,905 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in AbbVie by 73.4% during the first quarter, now owning only 4,320 shares valued at approximately $905,000.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for AbbVie, with Evercore ISI setting a target of $205.00 and Guggenheim increasing theirs to $227.00, indicating strong market confidence.
• AbbVie recently reported $2.97 EPS, missing expectations but showing a 6.6% revenue increase year-over-year, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $1.64.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 73.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,320 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,905 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crestline Management LP increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,664,489,000 after acquiring an additional 108,993 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Bank of America upped their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.10. 4,101,321 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,210,216. The firm has a market cap of $349.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $189.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.06.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

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.