Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,562,763 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,107,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,562,763 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,804,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 7.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 191,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,458,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. Dohj LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 27,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,800,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $229.75 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.39 and a twelve month high of $244.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company has a market cap of $406.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.09. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. AbbVie has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.320-3.360 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 524.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. UBS Group raised their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $289.00 target price (up from $284.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.14.

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.