Palisade Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,968 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 1.7% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $17,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 4,140.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $176.94 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.65 and a 52 week high of $207.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $189.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.63. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 215.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.