Westpac Banking Corp Sells 2,302 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,302 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 37.0% during the first quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after buying an additional 4,017 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 182,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,063 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 466,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,543,000 after acquiring an additional 15,458 shares during the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 713.2% during the fourth quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 16,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,729,000 after acquiring an additional 14,313 shares during the period. Finally, Bingham Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $1,147,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $253.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.69 and a 200-day moving average of $222.41. The company has a market capitalization of $448.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.00, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.77 and a 52 week high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AbbVie from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.10.

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on AbbVie to $282 from $273 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside for AbbVie Inc. (ABBV). Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s aesthetics business got a boost after Allergan Aesthetics received European Commission approval for Boey, expanding the company’s portfolio in Europe and potentially supporting future revenue growth. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles characterized AbbVie as a strong buy-and-hold name and noted that the stock has recently outperformed the broader market, reinforcing a generally constructive long-term view. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are watching AbbVie’s Q2 oncology revenue closely, with analysts warning that weakness in Imbruvica may outweigh gains from Venclexta and newer cancer treatments, which could pressure results. Yahoo Finance article

About AbbVie

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.