Cura Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Cura Wealth Advisors LLC increased its AbbVie stake by 4.0% in the first quarter, adding 11,157 shares to reach 292,983 shares valued at about $63.7 million. AbbVie is now the fund’s largest holding, making up 28.5% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 70.23% of AbbVie shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several large firms also expanded positions recently, including Norges Bank, Wellington Management, and Capital World Investors.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on AbbVie, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.67. The company also beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and recently declared a $1.73 quarterly dividend, implying a 2.7% yield.

Cura Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 292,983 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,157 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 28.5% of Cura Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $63,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,865,055,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 457.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,646,424 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,071,444 shares of the company's stock worth $2,986,777,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736,161 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 914.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 5,444,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,244,112,000 after buying an additional 4,908,260 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after buying an additional 4,190,487 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore set a $235.00 target price on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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?

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4%

ABBV opened at $253.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.63 and a 12 month high of $261.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $230.81 and its 200 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

AbbVie Company Profile

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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