BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 47.6% in Q1, selling over 506,000 shares, leaving it with 557,851 shares valued at approximately $116.88 million.
• AbbVie recently reported $2.97 EPS, missing estimates of $3.24, while quarterly revenue reached $15.42 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 312.38%.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 47.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 557,851 shares of the company's stock after selling 506,582 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $116,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $206.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $365.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.41, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.08 and a 200-day moving average of $192.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This 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 Company 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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