Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 901,128 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,280 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 0.7% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.05% of AbbVie worth $177,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.1 %

ABBV stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,644,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,532,226. The firm's 50-day moving average is $185.03 and its 200-day moving average is $182.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.29 and a 12 month high of $207.32. The company has a market cap of $306.37 billion, a PE ratio of 60.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) 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. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.65.

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.