CenterBook Partners LP Purchases New Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP opened a new AbbVie position, acquiring 7,216 shares worth approximately $1.888 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors own about 70.23% of AbbVie shares.
• Analysts give AbbVie a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $297.46; 23 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy and six rate it Hold.
• AbbVie beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $3.82 and revenue of $17.4 billion, while raising its outlook and increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.82 per share.

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,888,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset One Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset One Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,759,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 2.9% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,287,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 406,639 shares of the company's stock worth $106,373,000 after buying an additional 6,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 88.4% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 12,745 shares of the company's stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 5,980 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on AbbVie from $284.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on AbbVie from $218.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.46.

More AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat expectations, with revenue of $17.4 billion, and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook. The earnings report has strengthened the growth case for the shares. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: A licensing agreement with Nxera Pharma for an EP4 agonist gives AbbVie another potential inflammatory bowel disease treatment candidate. The deal may add to its pipeline as investors assess the durability of its newer growth drivers. Nxera licenses EP4 agonist to AbbVie
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie recently reached a fresh high following its earnings beat and a dividend increase, while analysts remain broadly optimistic. This supports investor interest in the stock as a defensive healthcare name. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie’s shares have already climbed substantially and are near their 52-week high, leaving less room for disappointment. Humira’s decline also means the company must continue demonstrating that newer products can sustain growth. The one thing to settle before buying AbbVie stock

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $291.51 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $302.93. The company has a market cap of $515.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.20. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $271.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.32 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 450.55%. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 15th will be paid a $1.82 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVie's previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 119.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,500. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.

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