AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AbbVie from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on AbbVie from $273.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.10.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $253.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $232.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.41. The firm has a market cap of $448.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.77 and a 1 year high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories 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

AbbVie 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.