Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $15.91 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,946 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 1.8% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $15,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Coast Financial LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 9.7% during the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $1,413,000. Safeguard Financial LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at about $235,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 0.9% in the first quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 65.6% in the first quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 97,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,726,000 after buying an additional 38,562 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $191.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.00.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About AbbVie

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.