UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 582,953 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 582,953 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.5% of UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.58% of AbbVie worth $2,009,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $183.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.59. The stock has a market cap of $323.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.65 and a twelve month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average 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.