Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 9,367 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 1.1%, owning 809,041 shares worth $169.5 million, making it the firm's 28th largest position.
• Several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions, with notable increases in holdings by firms such as Brighton Jones LLC and Revolve Wealth Partners LLC during the fourth quarter.
• AbbVie recently announced a $1.64 quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, while the stock is currently trading around $207.58.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 809,041 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,367 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $169,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Crestline Management LP increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after buying an additional 28,753 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after acquiring an additional 125,568 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.1%

AbbVie stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $207.91. 4,522,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,901,364. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets raised 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. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average 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.