AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Position Boosted by Compound Planning Inc.

Key Points

• Compound Planning Inc. increased its AbbVie stake by 135.8% in the fourth quarter, and several other large institutional investors also raised their holdings, leaving institutions with 70.23% ownership of the stock.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and implying a 3.2% annualized yield.
• The company continues to see pipeline momentum with SKINVIVE approval, encouraging CLL trial results, and new Phase 3 data on a venetoclax-based combination, though a legal overhang remains as HHS seeks dismissal of AbbVie’s drug-discount patient lawsuit.

Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 135.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,341 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,534 shares during the quarter. Compound Planning Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after buying an additional 3,032,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,940,931 shares of the company's stock worth $18,494,193,000 after buying an additional 1,119,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,629,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,179,099,000 after purchasing an additional 4,190,487 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in AbbVie by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,824,399 shares of the company's stock worth $5,900,617,000 after buying an additional 356,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,865,055,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.73 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and highlighting the company’s ability to generate strong cash flow. AbbVie Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie also got a regulatory boost with new SKINVIVE approval and reported encouraging CLL trial results, which support the company’s oncology and aesthetics growth pipeline. AbbVie (ABBV) Lands New SKINVIVE Approval As CLL Trial Results Impress
• Positive Sentiment: The company presented new Phase 3 data on a venetoclax-based combination and highlighted its late-stage ABBV-400 colorectal cancer program, adding to investor confidence in AbbVie’s long-term pipeline. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Presents Data on Fixed-Duration Venetoclax-Based Combination
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie has been attracting extra trader attention recently, but the stock’s near-term direction still depends on whether dividend income and pipeline progress can outweigh broader market weakness and legal uncertainty. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest overhang is a reported HHS move to ask a court to dismiss AbbVie’s lawsuit over drug-discount patients, which could increase regulatory and legal pressure on the stock. HHS Asks Court to Toss AbbVie Suit Over Drug Discount Patients

AbbVie Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $216.63 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $212.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.78. The company has a market cap of $382.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.73 and a 12-month high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.43.

About AbbVie

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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