Symmetry Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Symmetry Partners LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 56.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,863 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,109,000 after buying an additional 3,108 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,068,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $127,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.29.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $183.92 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.52 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.88 billion, a PE ratio of 78.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.