Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its AbbVie stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,447 shares to bring its total holdings to 90,857 shares valued at about $20.8 million.
• AbbVie reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, earning $2.65 per share versus the $2.59 estimate on revenue of $15 billion, up 12.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, implying a 3.3% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $253.10.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,857 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in AbbVie were worth $20,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 264,206 shares of the company's stock worth $60,368,000 after buying an additional 20,372 shares in the last quarter. Freemont Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1,030.0% during the fourth quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 11,300 shares of the company's stock worth $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $4,026,000. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC grew its stake in AbbVie by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 6,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Evercore reduced their price objective on AbbVie from $232.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $275.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.10.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ABBV opened at $210.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.78 and a 200 day moving average of $220.17. The company has a market cap of $372.71 billion, a PE ratio of 103.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.57 and a 52-week high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 340.89%.

About AbbVie

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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