AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Liberty Capital Management Inc.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 1.7% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on AbbVie from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.64.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $170.39 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.96 and a 1 year high of $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.79. The stock has a market cap of $300.89 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 183.98%.

About AbbVie

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.