Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,218 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. HTG Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE ABBV opened at $190.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $336.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.95 and a 200-day moving average of $189.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average 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.