Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Decreases Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its stake in AbbVie by 9.3% in the first quarter, selling 7,351 shares and leaving it with 72,061 shares valued at about $15.7 million.
• AbbVie beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.65 EPS on $15 billion in revenue, with revenue up 12.4% year over year and analysts expecting full-year EPS of 14.18.
• The company continues to attract bullish analyst coverage and pays a sizable dividend, with a new quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $267.67.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,351 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in AbbVie were worth $15,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Swan Global Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.5% during the first quarter. Swan Global Investments LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 9.4% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,334 shares of the company's stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 1.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 6,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,459,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

ABBV opened at $253.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $447.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.81, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.63 and a 52-week high of $261.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $230.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $298.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.67.

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie reported quiet but meaningful pipeline progress in its ABBV-8736 injection study, which could support longer-term growth expectations if the program continues to advance. AbbVie’s ABBV-8736 Injection Study Signals Quiet But Meaningful Pipeline Progress
• Positive Sentiment: Some coverage says AbbVie should be able to preserve its dividend even after the $10.9 billion Apogee acquisition because the deal is being funded with debt rather than cash, reducing immediate pressure on reserves. How Will AbbVie’s $10.9 Billion Acquisition of Apogee Impact Its Dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker coverage and article commentary pointed to higher earnings estimates for AbbVie, but also noted the stock may be stretched versus its growth outlook, leaving the market split on whether upside is already priced in. Erste Group Bank Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for AbbVie
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader pharma commentary placed AbbVie alongside other large drugmakers and suggested it has outperformed the S&P 500, but also described its valuation as relatively elevated compared with growth expectations. 3 Biggest Pharma Giants: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary around AbbVie’s eye-care exposure raised questions about whether the company is pulling back from that segment, which could signal strategic uncertainty for part of its portfolio. BLOG: Exit stage left: Is AbbVie leaving eye care?

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABBV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.