Peloton Wealth Strategists Reduces Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Peloton Wealth Strategists reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 31.3%, now owning 15,380 shares valued at approximately $3.22 million.
• Various hedge funds, including Goldman Sachs and Vanguard Group, have increased their stakes in AbbVie, indicating continued institutional interest.
• Analysts have set a new average price target for AbbVie at $214.95, with several ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold."

Peloton Wealth Strategists trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 31.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.3% of Peloton Wealth Strategists' holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Peloton Wealth Strategists' holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock worth $36,439,271,000 after purchasing an additional 845,787 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock worth $4,612,357,000 after acquiring an additional 189,294 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,058,706 shares of the company's stock worth $2,142,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,780 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,284 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $209.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.99, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $198.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.14. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

AbbVie Company 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.

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