Ascentis Independent Advisors Has $8 Million Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Ascentis Independent Advisors increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 85.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,793 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,953 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.6% of Ascentis Independent Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $260.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $220.19 and its 200-day moving average is $220.25. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.63 and a 1-year high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.28 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued 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 2.7%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $235.00 price objective on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.81.

About AbbVie

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.