AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its AbbVie stake by 53.1% in the third quarter, selling 419,837 shares and retaining 370,579 shares valued at about $96.9 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: AbbVie has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $297.46. The company also reported quarterly revenue growth of 10.3% and earnings per share of $3.82, above estimates.
• AbbVie raised its quarterly dividend from $1.73 to $1.82 per share, equivalent to $7.28 annually and a yield of about 2.5%.

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,579 shares of the company's stock after selling 419,837 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in AbbVie were worth $96,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Palacios Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Palacios Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.6% during the third quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 28.0% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 539 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.1% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 16,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,204 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,607,500. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $288.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on AbbVie from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AbbVie from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $292.87 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $272.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.42. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $302.93. The company has a market cap of $517.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.20.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 450.55%. The company had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 119.10%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.

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