Candriam S.C.A. Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,144,668 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67,035 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.3% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.06% of AbbVie worth $248,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $5,865,055,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 457.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,646,424 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,071,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,986,777,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736,161 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 914.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 5,444,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908,260 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $249.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.81.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ABBV opened at $248.00 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.63 and a 12-month high of $261.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.25.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.39 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.89%.

More AbbVie News

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.