MFG Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

MFG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,550 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.9% of MFG Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. MFG Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $876,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $185.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $327.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.52 and a 52-week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.29.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.