Brookstone Capital Management Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Brookstone Capital Management cut its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,686 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 21.1% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 36,332 shares of the company's stock worth $7,612,000 after purchasing an additional 6,318 shares during the last quarter. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA bought a new position in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $455,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in AbbVie by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 360,544 shares of the company's stock worth $71,200,000 after buying an additional 29,681 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 6,184 shares of the company's stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 501,761 shares of the company's stock worth $105,129,000 after purchasing an additional 58,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:ABBV traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $189.50. 3,706,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,248,905. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.63 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $187.30 and its 200-day moving average is $188.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.48.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.