AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stake Lowered by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 37.0% in 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. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 447,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,516,000 after acquiring an additional 45,132 shares during the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,557,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 134,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,865,000 after acquiring an additional 9,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,596,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,784,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,232 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 74,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,607,500. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $293.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $519.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $273.45 and its 200-day moving average is $239.80. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $302.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The business had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.98 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be issued a $1.82 dividend. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 125.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $290.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.46.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas. Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.