Welch & Forbes LLC Has $74.73 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,332 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 1.0% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $74,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,865,055,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in AbbVie by 457.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,714,000 after acquiring an additional 8,646,424 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in AbbVie by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,071,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,986,777,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736,161 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 914.6% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 5,444,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,260 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,190,487 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore set a $235.00 price objective on AbbVie in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on AbbVie from $234.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.81.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $248.00. 5,780,723 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,942,850. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $184.63 and a one year high of $261.64. The company has a market cap of $438.17 billion, a PE ratio of 122.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $225.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.25.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised AbbVie’s price target to $276 from $234 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside for the shares. Bank of America raises AbbVie price target
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital also increased its price target to $280 from $260 and kept an outperform rating, adding to the wave of analyst support. RBC raises AbbVie price target
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan likewise lifted its target to $280 from $260 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing a favorable near-term outlook for AbbVie. JPMorgan raises AbbVie price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage comparing Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie highlighted how both pharma giants’ latest quarterly results are shaping income-investor preferences, but it did not point to a clear new catalyst for AbbVie. Johnson & Johnson vs AbbVie article
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also appeared in an industry piece on the expanding cystic fibrosis market, which may be supportive of long-term therapeutic demand but is not an immediate stock-moving event. Cystic fibrosis market article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the analyst upgrades, AbbVie was recently reported as having moved lower in trading, suggesting the stock is still contending with profit-taking or broader market pressure. AbbVie stock drops despite market gains
• Neutral Sentiment: West Pharmaceutical completed the SmartDose sale to AbbVie, a routine transaction that may support AbbVie’s drug-delivery capabilities but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. West Pharmaceutical SmartDose sale to AbbVie

AbbVie Company 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.