Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 749.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,095,979 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,849,110 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 0.7% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $455,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in AbbVie by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $259.10 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.62 and a 1 year high of $261.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $234.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.86. The firm has a market cap of $457.78 billion, a PE ratio of 127.64, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given 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 is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 340.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. DZ Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $298.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.10.

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.