Fred Alger Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC significantly increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 394.5% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 337,893 shares, bringing their total holdings to 423,540 shares valued at approximately $88.74 million.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share to be paid on November 14th, with a dividend yield of 3.1%, however, its payout ratio stands at a high 312.38%.
• Despite a missed earnings estimate of $3.24, AbbVie reported a revenue of $15.42 billion, up 6.6% from the previous year, showcasing resilience in financial performance.

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 394.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 423,540 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 337,893 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $88,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. TD Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $1.42 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $211.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,520,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,481,872. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $198.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.25. The company has a market capitalization of $374.23 billion, a PE ratio of 100.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.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 expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

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.