AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,831,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,970 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $615,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in AbbVie by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 7,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ABBV opened at $248.06 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.63 and a twelve month high of $261.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.20, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $226.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.34.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $298.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.24.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.