Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,363 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,878 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. GGM Financials LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% in the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its position in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $172.18 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.65 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.95. The company has a market cap of $304.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.