Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,792 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,853 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crestline Management LP increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in AbbVie by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,367,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,489,000 after acquiring an additional 108,993 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in AbbVie by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its position in AbbVie by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 3.9% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim upped their price target on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.29.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $181.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $186.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.92.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Profile

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.