Artemis Investment Management LLP Raises Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 566,760 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,933 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 1.8% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $118,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $187.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $330.42 billion, a PE ratio of 79.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.52 and a twelve month 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $186.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.88.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.29.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents 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. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.