Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 71.0% in Q1, owning 239,267 shares valued at approximately $49.17 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, also boosted their holdings in AbbVie during the same quarter, indicating growing interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for AbbVie, with Bank of America setting a new target of $204 and most analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy".

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 71.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 239,267 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 99,318 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in AbbVie were worth $49,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,439,271,000 after acquiring an additional 845,787 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,612,357,000 after buying an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% during 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 buying an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 18.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3%

AbbVie stock opened at $205.9930 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.09, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

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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