Weaver Capital Management LLC Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.29.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE ABBV opened at $185.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.19 and its 200 day moving average is $187.63. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $327.06 billion, a PE ratio of 78.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

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.