AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Holdings Lifted by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 0.9%, now owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $197.7 million.
• Several major investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, have recently boosted their positions in AbbVie, indicating strong institutional interest.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a payout ratio currently at 312.38%, reflecting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,065,163 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,757 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 4.6% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of AbbVie worth $197,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock worth $36,439,271,000 after purchasing an additional 845,787 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock worth $4,612,357,000 after purchasing an additional 189,294 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the company's stock worth $2,675,959,000 after purchasing an additional 713,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,413,033 shares of the company's stock worth $1,972,050,000 after purchasing an additional 45,871 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.05.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $229.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $405.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $217.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.60. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $244.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

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.

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