Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 27.8%, acquiring an additional 488,940 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing their total ownership to over 2.25 million shares.
• AbbVie recently reported $15.42 billion in quarterly revenue, exceeding analysts' expectations, though its earnings per share of $2.97 fell short of the consensus estimate of $3.24.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a yield of 3.2%, although its payout ratio is notably high at 312.38%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,250,771 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 488,940 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.9% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.13% of AbbVie worth $466,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded up $1.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.65. The company had a trading volume of 4,430,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,938,490. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $365.06 billion, a PE ratio of 98.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $191.08 and its 200 day moving average is $192.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

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.