Bruce & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Bruce & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 7.3%, now holding 127,500 shares, which account for 8.6% of its total holdings.
• AbbVie recently reported an EPS of $2.46 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.06, with a revenue of $13.34 billion, a 8.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share on August 15th, representing a 3.45% yield and a high dividend payout ratio of 279.15%.

Bruce & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 8.6% of Bruce & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Bruce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $26,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Crestline Management LP raised its position 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 buying an additional 28,753 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 buying an additional 108,993 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position 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 buying an additional 125,568 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.29.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $190.22 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $187.62 and its 200-day moving average is $189.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $336.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.48.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

About AbbVie

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.

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