AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Purchased by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 878,900 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 140,368 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $173,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at approximately $576,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in AbbVie by 249.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company's stock worth $796,357,000 after buying an additional 3,120,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 9.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 11,250 shares of the company's stock worth $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded up $4.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $172.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,582,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,528. The stock has a market cap of $303.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.87, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's fifty day moving average is $190.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.01. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.65 and a 1 year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a boost from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $203.00 price objective for the company. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.37.

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.