Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 97,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 495 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up about 2.0% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $19,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $173.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $306.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $151.29 and a one year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.65.

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.