AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,784 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,296 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $4,459,385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company's stock worth $3,215,903,000 after acquiring an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,824,626 shares of the company's stock worth $3,878,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299,645 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.29.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.32. 4,990,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,292,534. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.90. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $339.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.84, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

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.