First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,466 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. American National Bank raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after acquiring an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $163.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.80. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.70 and a 1 year high of $182.89. The company has a market capitalization of $289.32 billion, a PE ratio of 48.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.07.

AbbVie 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.