E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in AbbVie Inc. by 8.9%, owning 28,900 shares valued at $6.06 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS in its most recent quarterly earnings, falling short of analyst estimates of $3.24, despite a revenue increase of 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.3% and a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $203.25. The company had a trading volume of 441,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,696,309. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.67. The stock has a market cap of $359.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year 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.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

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.