Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 2.7%, now owning 2,023,542 shares, valued at approximately $423.97 million.
• Other institutional investors like Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs increased their stake in AbbVie, with Goldman Sachs boosting its holdings by 31.6%.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 per share, missing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting a 3.1% yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,023,542 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,053 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.8% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of AbbVie worth $423,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in 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. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $1,351,000. Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,403 shares of the company's stock worth $7,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its position in AbbVie by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 23,985 shares of the company's stock worth $4,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.63. 2,507,360 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,552,890. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. 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 $373.86 billion, a PE ratio of 100.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% 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.