AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,341 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,017 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 182,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,694,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 466,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,543,000 after purchasing an additional 15,458 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 636,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,026,000 after buying an additional 66,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 36,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,355,000 after buying an additional 6,646 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $253.37 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.63 and a 52 week high of $261.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $230.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.04. The company has a market cap of $447.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.81, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $249.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AbbVie from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.67.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie reported quiet but meaningful pipeline progress in its ABBV-8736 injection study, which could support longer-term growth expectations if the program continues to advance. AbbVie’s ABBV-8736 Injection Study Signals Quiet But Meaningful Pipeline Progress
• Positive Sentiment: Some coverage says AbbVie should be able to preserve its dividend even after the $10.9 billion Apogee acquisition because the deal is being funded with debt rather than cash, reducing immediate pressure on reserves. How Will AbbVie’s $10.9 Billion Acquisition of Apogee Impact Its Dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker coverage and article commentary pointed to higher earnings estimates for AbbVie, but also noted the stock may be stretched versus its growth outlook, leaving the market split on whether upside is already priced in. Erste Group Bank Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for AbbVie
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader pharma commentary placed AbbVie alongside other large drugmakers and suggested it has outperformed the S&P 500, but also described its valuation as relatively elevated compared with growth expectations. 3 Biggest Pharma Giants: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary around AbbVie’s eye-care exposure raised questions about whether the company is pulling back from that segment, which could signal strategic uncertainty for part of its portfolio. BLOG: Exit stage left: Is AbbVie leaving eye care?

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.