AbbVie Inc. $ABBV is HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its AbbVie stake by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, making AbbVie its 8th largest position and worth about $45.4 million.
• AbbVie reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.65 versus estimates of $2.59 and revenue of $15 billion, up 12.4% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, equal to an annualized dividend of $6.92 and a 3.4% yield.

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,787 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,890 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.1% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $45,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after buying an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 5.0% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company's stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 4.6% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company's stock worth $22,281,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 117.3% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company's stock worth $210,685,000 after buying an additional 612,702 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares in the company, valued at $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This trade represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $232.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on AbbVie from $299.00 to $294.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.90.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.81 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.57 and a 12 month high of $244.81. The firm has a market cap of $358.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.22 and its 200-day moving average is $220.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 911.57%. The company had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 340.89%.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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