Synergy Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,159 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crestline Management LP raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,664,489,000 after acquiring an additional 108,993 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in AbbVie by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 3.9% during the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $185.16 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company has a market capitalization of $327.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.70.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given 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 currently 279.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.29.

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.