Exane Asset Management Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Exane Asset Management acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc., purchasing 20,295 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million, making AbbVie its 12th largest holding.
• Institutional investors collectively own 70.23% of AbbVie's stock, with notable acquisitions from Vanguard Group, Northern Trust Corp, and Goldman Sachs.
• AbbVie will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share on November 14th, with a current annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Exane Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,767,000. AbbVie makes up about 1.6% of Exane Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 845,787 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 189,294 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the company's stock worth $2,675,959,000 after purchasing an additional 713,148 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,413,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,972,050,000 after purchasing an additional 45,871 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $220.75 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $225.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.24 and a 200 day moving average of $195.04. The company has a market cap of $389.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.12, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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 firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 312.38%.

About AbbVie

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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