NorthRock Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 3.0% during the first quarter, owning a total of 75,038 shares valued at approximately $15.7 million.
• AbbVie will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.64 on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 3.43% and a payout ratio of 279.15%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for AbbVie, with Bank of America setting a new target at $204.00 and Citigroup at $205.00, indicating a moderate buy consensus among analysts.

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,038 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 0.5% of NorthRock Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $15,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock worth $33,800,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,171 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in AbbVie by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,708 shares of the company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 30,457 shares of the company's stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in AbbVie by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 38,045 shares of the company's stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock traded up $6.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.17. The stock had a trading volume of 8,081,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,877,075. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $188.10 and its 200 day moving average is $190.04. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABBV. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.