Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ purchased a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 182,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,279,000. AbbVie accounts for 10.5% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $163.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.82. The stock has a market cap of $289.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.62, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.70 and a 1-year high of $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a return on equity of 179.47% and a net margin of 11.02%. The company had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.07.

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.