Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $8.95 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,581 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,790 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $214.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $215.66. The firm has a market cap of $378.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.40, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa America downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

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.