Blueshift Asset Management LLC Has $1.34 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 12.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,789 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. GGM Financials LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.9% during the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $181.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $137.65 and a one year high of $207.32. The company has a market cap of $320.14 billion, a PE ratio of 62.90, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $188.85 and a 200-day moving average of $181.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.50.

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.