Highland Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,792 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,853 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock traded down $4.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $181.89. The stock had a trading volume of 29,262,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,249,513. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $186.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.01. The stock has a market cap of $321.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 279.15%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.