Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA boosted its AbbVie stake by 321.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 137,214 shares valued at about $31.4 million.
• AbbVie’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.65 and revenue of $15 billion, while revenue rose 12.4% year over year. Investors are also focusing on growth from newer drugs such as Skyrizi and Rinvoq as Humira declines.
• The company remains broadly supported by Wall Street, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $252.90. AbbVie also confirmed a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.4%.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA grew its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 321.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,214 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 104,651 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises about 1.8% of Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in AbbVie were worth $31,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial River Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the company's stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the company's stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the company's stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,030 shares of the company's stock worth $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 7,705 shares during the period. Finally, Osprey Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 55,800 shares of the company's stock worth $12,750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie continued to draw bullish attention after reporting strong first-quarter results, with revenue and earnings coming in ahead of expectations and showing that growth is extending beyond Humira into newer drugs like Skyrizi and Rinvoq. AbbVie Delivers Strong Q1 Earnings Beyond Humira. This Dividend King Still Shines.
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie completed an early safety study for ABBV-142, which may improve investor confidence in the company’s pipeline and future oncology growth prospects. AbbVie Completes Early Safety Study for ABBV-142, Nudging Pipeline Hopes Higher
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie and adMare BioInnovations named RIME Therapeutics as a Biotech Innovators Award winner, reinforcing AbbVie’s efforts to support early-stage biotech innovation and build optionality around its pipeline ecosystem. AbbVie (ABBV), adMare BioInnovations Name RIME Therapeutics as Biotech Innovators Award Winner
• Positive Sentiment: Skyrizi ranked ahead of J&J’s Tremfya in April drug ad spending, signaling continued competitive momentum and heavy marketing support for one of AbbVie’s key growth brands. AbbVie’s Skyrizi beats out J&J’s Tremfya in April drug ad spending leaderboard
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and Q1 earnings-call recaps highlighted ongoing interest in AbbVie’s post-Humira growth strategy, but these pieces were mostly interpretive rather than new market-moving disclosures. 5 must-read analyst questions from AbbVie’s Q1 earnings call
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on SKYRIZI expansion and reimbursement progress in Canada suggests continued international adoption, but the article framed these as part of an already constructive longer-term thesis rather than a single new catalyst. Does Strong Q1 Results And SKYRIZI Expansion Reshape The Bull Case For AbbVie (ABBV)?
• Negative Sentiment: One relative headwind is that ABBV shares have recently traded below key moving averages, reflecting some investor caution even as fundamentals remain solid.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $201.24 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $176.57 and a one year high of $244.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $213.18 and its 200 day moving average is $221.00. The company has a market capitalization of $355.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 911.57%. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 340.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $234.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,771,510. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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