Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. has invested approximately $1.41 million in AbbVie Inc., acquiring 6,734 shares of the company's stock.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a yield of 3.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.
• Stock analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for AbbVie, with target prices ranging from $204.00 to $255.00 among various research firms.

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,446,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,507,835. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $197.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.04. The company has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.11, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

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.