AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,753 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $37,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,306,353,000 after buying an additional 3,032,438 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,494,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after acquiring an additional 4,190,487 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,900,617,000 after acquiring an additional 356,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $5,865,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $249.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.81.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.8%

ABBV traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $248.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,780,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,942,850. The firm has a market cap of $438.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.17, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.63 and a 52-week high of $261.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.25.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The business had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 340.89%.

AbbVie News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised AbbVie’s price target to $276 from $234 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside for the shares. Bank of America raises AbbVie price target
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital also increased its price target to $280 from $260 and kept an outperform rating, adding to the wave of analyst support. RBC raises AbbVie price target
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan likewise lifted its target to $280 from $260 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing a favorable near-term outlook for AbbVie. JPMorgan raises AbbVie price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage comparing Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie highlighted how both pharma giants’ latest quarterly results are shaping income-investor preferences, but it did not point to a clear new catalyst for AbbVie. Johnson & Johnson vs AbbVie article
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also appeared in an industry piece on the expanding cystic fibrosis market, which may be supportive of long-term therapeutic demand but is not an immediate stock-moving event. Cystic fibrosis market article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the analyst upgrades, AbbVie was recently reported as having moved lower in trading, suggesting the stock is still contending with profit-taking or broader market pressure. AbbVie stock drops despite market gains
• Neutral Sentiment: West Pharmaceutical completed the SmartDose sale to AbbVie, a routine transaction that may support AbbVie’s drug-delivery capabilities but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. West Pharmaceutical SmartDose sale to AbbVie

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie’s product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women’s health.