AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 2.4% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $3,229,888,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $499,955,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in AbbVie by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 44,988,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,971,796,000 after buying an additional 2,542,463 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in AbbVie by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,422,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,252,000 after buying an additional 2,390,239 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,451,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,774,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,415 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. HSBC upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.07.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $163.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The firm has a market cap of $289.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.62, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.70 and a 52 week high of $182.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.43 and a 200-day moving average of $167.77.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued 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 net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. The company had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

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.