Congress Asset Management Co. MA Decreases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $17,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $170.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.60. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.96 and a fifty-two week high of $182.89.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.64.

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.