Safeguard Financial LLC Takes $235,000 Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Safeguard Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,961,001,000 after buying an additional 1,450,089 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 44,988,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,971,796,000 after buying an additional 2,542,463 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,175,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,796,085,000 after buying an additional 914,485 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,451,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,774,569,000 after buying an additional 1,702,415 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,936,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,269,822,000 after buying an additional 491,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ABBV. HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.64.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $172.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.72 and a 200-day moving average of $166.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.96 billion, a PE ratio of 51.08, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.