AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,067 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $43,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in AbbVie by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,596,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,784,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,232 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 14,267,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,590,323,000 after acquiring an additional 106,091 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,905,952,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,772,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,587 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,698,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,326,728,000 after purchasing an additional 247,689 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $284.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets set a $315.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $218.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $290.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.2%

ABBV opened at $293.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $519.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.58, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.20. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $302.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $273.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.80.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.