Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 4.6%, selling 5,550 shares and holding a total of 114,463 shares valued at approximately $23.98 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• AbbVie reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the quarter, missing estimates, but showed revenue growth of 6.6% year-over-year with a total revenue of $15.42 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,550 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $23,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% in the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% in the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. High Falls Advisors Inc lifted its position in AbbVie by 3.2% during the first quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.25. The stock had a trading volume of 4,259,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,579,126. 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 $371.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.54.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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 issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. 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. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie 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.