Hantz Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,495 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 1,745.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,728,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,698,000 after buying an additional 4,471,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 314.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,315,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,549,000 after purchasing an additional 997,441 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 7.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,841,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,516,358,000 after purchasing an additional 623,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 6.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 486.1% during the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 676,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,531,000 after purchasing an additional 560,808 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $182.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $188.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.63. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.01 and a 12-month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 227.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.