Longbow Finance SA Increases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 55.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 21,952 shares, bringing its total to 61,217 shares, valued at approximately $12.8 million.
• AbbVie's latest earnings report showed $2.46 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $13.34 billion for the quarter, reflecting an 8.4% increase year-over-year.
• AbbVie declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a yield of 3.44%, amidst a payout ratio of 279.15%.

Longbow Finance SA grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 55.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,952 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises about 1.5% of Longbow Finance SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in AbbVie were worth $12,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in AbbVie by 197.6% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABBV. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.29.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $3.68 on Tuesday, reaching $192.20. 2,865,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,829,496. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's 50 day moving average price is $187.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.94. The company has a market capitalization of $339.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.85, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

About AbbVie

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.