Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 71,966 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 3.2%, purchasing 71,966 shares to own a total of 2,322,737 shares, making it the 16th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have recently bought shares of AbbVie, leading to a total of 70.23% of the company's stock being owned by institutional investors.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,322,737 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,966 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.7% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of AbbVie worth $429,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth $25,000. TD Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 480.6% during the second quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 209 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.90.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.1%

ABBV opened at $230.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $407.86 billion, a PE ratio of 109.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $244.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $214.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.79.

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). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

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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