Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,345 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 9,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 52,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,397,000 after acquiring an additional 11,538 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its holdings in AbbVie by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 56,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,108,000 after purchasing an additional 6,420 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in AbbVie by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 108,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,427,000 after purchasing an additional 4,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $200.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.18 and a 200-day moving average of $179.85. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $207.32. The company has a market cap of $354.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.61, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 226.99%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 227.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

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.