Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 73,081 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 553.8% in the 1st quarter, owning 86,277 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, missing analyst expectations by $0.27, while generating revenue of $15.42 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 553.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,277 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,081 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $18,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $198.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,047,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,759,900. The stock has a market cap of $350.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.60. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.