Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 9,000 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 4.4% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $24,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $168.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.41 billion, a PE ratio of 50.15, 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 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $182.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.41 and its 200-day moving average is $167.29.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 179.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.64.

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.