AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Purchased by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 34.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 1,601,680 shares valued at approximately $335.58 million.
• AbbVie reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the expected $3.24, although its revenue increased by 6.6% year-over-year to $15.42 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, amounting to an annualized payout of $6.56, representing a yield of 3.1%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 34.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,601,680 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 410,425 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.09% of AbbVie worth $335,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.9% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 3.4% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 3.2% during the first quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.7% during the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $210.2840 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $192.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company has a market cap of $371.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

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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