Simplify Asset Management Inc. Makes New $9.33 Million Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 47,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,331,000. AbbVie makes up about 0.4% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $3.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $166.54. 2,791,807 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,431,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.62 and its 200 day moving average is $180.76. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.05 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. 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 currently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.89.

AbbVie 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.