Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 4.3 million shares valued at $898.4 million.
• Multiple large investors have recently adjusted their positions in AbbVie, indicating a general increase in interest, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 70.23% of the stock.
• Despite missing EPS estimates, AbbVie reported a revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $14.93 billion, showcasing a 6.6% increase compared to the previous year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,287,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 686,845 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.24% of AbbVie worth $898,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $2,302,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 7,922 shares of the company's stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $501,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABBV. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3%

ABBV stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,465,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,155,747. 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 $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.11, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.13.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business 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 business earned $2.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.