Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 69,368 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 4.0% in the first quarter, now owning 1,798,733 shares worth approximately $376.87 million.
• Several other large investors also made significant changes to their positions in AbbVie, with 70.23% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64, representing a 3.1% dividend yield, although the company's payout ratio stands at an unusually high 312.38%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,798,733 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,368 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 0.7% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.10% of AbbVie worth $376,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.3%

AbbVie stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $212.34. The company had a trading volume of 4,465,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,155,747. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $197.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.15. The firm has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company 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%.AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

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.