Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc., purchasing 61,336 shares valued at approximately $12.85 million, making it the 15th largest position in their portfolio.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a yield of 3.3%, and a payout ratio of 312.38%.
• Analysts are optimistic about AbbVie’s stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $214.43, following multiple price target increases from major firms.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 61,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,851,000. AbbVie comprises 0.8% of Zions Bancorporation National Association UT's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth 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. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $198.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $351.13 billion, a PE ratio of 94.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $189.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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