AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 7.5%, now holding 1,373,058 shares valued at approximately $287.68 million.
• A total of 70.23% of AbbVie is owned by institutional investors, with several firms increasing their positions in the company.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in a 3.3% dividend yield, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,373,058 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,196 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.08% of AbbVie worth $287,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $198.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.77 billion, a PE ratio of 94.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $15.42 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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