Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,506,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,894 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 2.0% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $327,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 117.3% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,685,000 after purchasing an additional 612,702 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, June 8th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.10.

Key Headlines Impacting AbbVie

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

AbbVie Stock Up 0.8%

AbbVie stock opened at $259.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $234.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.86. The company has a market cap of $457.78 billion, a PE ratio of 127.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.62 and a twelve month high of $261.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 340.89%.

About AbbVie

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.