EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 21,090 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 20.1%, acquiring an additional 21,090 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 126,128 shares worth approximately $26.4 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in AbbVie, with GAMMA Investing LLC growing its stake by 25,841.6% during the same period, totaling over $2.14 billion in value.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $6.56 and a yield of 3.1%, amid a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,128 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,090 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $26,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,284 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at about $1,819,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,769,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,735,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,102,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,058,706 shares of the company's stock worth $2,142,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2%

ABBV traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $211.59. The company had a trading volume of 3,973,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,550,119. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.62 and a 200-day moving average of $193.91. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $373.79 billion, a PE ratio of 100.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities 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 note on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.