AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is Garland Capital Management Inc.'s Largest Position

Garland Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,738 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,635 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 6.4% of Garland Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company's stock worth $30,754,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company's stock worth $6,586,948,000 after purchasing an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company's stock worth $6,038,898,000 after purchasing an additional 778,126 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $4,459,385,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.16. 12,149,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,244,176. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.70. The stock has a market cap of $327.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.79, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.29.

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.