Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,899 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 2.4% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $125,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GGM Financials LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% during the third quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,575,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% during the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $169.50. 291,522 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,406,686. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.30 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.84. The company has a market capitalization of $299.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 215.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.83.

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.