Smith Group Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,890 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,610 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crestline Management LP raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,664,489,000 after purchasing an additional 108,993 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in AbbVie by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after buying an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.3%

ABBV traded up $4.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $189.92. 5,936,750 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,249,200. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.47 billion, a PE ratio of 80.82, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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 3.45%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.29.

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.