Westend Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 34,678.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,129 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,097 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 0.9% of Westend Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Westend Capital Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after buying an additional 10,195,284 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,215,903,000 after buying an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 2.6%

AbbVie stock traded down $4.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $181.89. 29,262,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,249,513. The business's 50 day moving average is $186.21 and its 200 day moving average is $188.01. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $321.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.40, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.