AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Position Lessened by Platinum Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Platinum Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in AbbVie by 12.7%, owning 365,440 shares worth approximately $67.83 million after selling 52,927 shares.
• Insider trading reports indicate that executives Nicholas Donoghoe and Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold a combined 55,665 shares, each experiencing a significant decrease in their ownership percentages.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64, to be paid on November 14th, representing an annualized payout of $6.56 and a yield of 2.7%.

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 365,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,927 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 4.5% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $67,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EWA LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 13.4% during the second quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,704 shares of the company's stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp grew its position in AbbVie by 178.6% during the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp now owns 17,393 shares of the company's stock worth $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 11,150 shares during the last quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.7% in the second quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 4,338 shares of the company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 24.9% in the second quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,909 shares of the company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABBV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.45.

AbbVie Trading Up 5.7%

NYSE ABBV opened at $244.77 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $244.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.40 billion, a PE ratio of 116.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $208.97 and its 200 day moving average is $195.71.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio 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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