AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stock Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,853 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verus Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% in the third quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Financial Group Inc. now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat expectations, with revenue of $17.4 billion, and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook. The earnings report has strengthened the growth case for the shares. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: A licensing agreement with Nxera Pharma for an EP4 agonist gives AbbVie another potential inflammatory bowel disease treatment candidate. The deal may add to its pipeline as investors assess the durability of its newer growth drivers. Nxera licenses EP4 agonist to AbbVie
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie recently reached a fresh high following its earnings beat and a dividend increase, while analysts remain broadly optimistic. This supports investor interest in the stock as a defensive healthcare name. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie’s shares have already climbed substantially and are near their 52-week high, leaving less room for disappointment. Humira’s decline also means the company must continue demonstrating that newer products can sustain growth. The one thing to settle before buying AbbVie stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,607,500. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of AbbVie from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $235.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $284.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of ABBV opened at $291.51 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $302.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $271.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.04. The firm has a market cap of $515.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.17, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.32 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 15th will be issued a $1.82 dividend. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 125.30%.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.