Advisors Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 22.5%, resulting in a total of 76,931 shares valued at approximately $16.12 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Recent insider trading saw Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sell 42,370 shares for over $8.4 million, while Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares for approximately $2.64 million.
• AbbVie declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $6.56 with a yield of 3.1% despite a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 76,931 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,373 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crestline Management LP increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,753 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock worth $9,817,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock worth $33,800,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV traded down $0.66 on Friday, reaching $212.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,465,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,155,747. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $197.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.15. The company has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.