Morningstar Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 129.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,799 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,358 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in AbbVie by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.8%

ABBV opened at $259.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $457.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.62 and a fifty-two week high of $261.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $234.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.86.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 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 negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on AbbVie from $273.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.10.

AbbVie Company 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.