Lifeworks Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,697 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 1.1% of Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,438 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,494,193,000 after buying an additional 1,119,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,179,099,000 after buying an additional 4,190,487 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,900,617,000 after buying an additional 356,394 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,865,055,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.0%

ABBV opened at $248.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $438.17 billion, a PE ratio of 122.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.63 and a 52 week high of $261.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting AbbVie

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on AbbVie from $234.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.81.

AbbVie Company 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.