Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 26,384 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC has increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 5.9%, now owning 474,043 shares valued at approximately $99.3 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24, but achieved $15.42 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations of $14.93 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,043 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,384 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $99,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,753 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,664,489,000 after purchasing an additional 108,993 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $197.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.07 billion, a PE ratio of 93.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 518.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.81.

AbbVie 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.

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