J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 95,460 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 239.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 95,460 shares worth approximately $28.3 million.
• AbbVie reported earnings of $2.97 per share, missing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter—up 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a high dividend yield of 3.4% despite a significant dividend payout ratio of 279.15%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 239.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,373 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,460 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in AbbVie were worth $28,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $6.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $195.17. 8,081,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,440,562. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $344.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $188.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 518.10%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.81.

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.