Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 25,600 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds cut its AbbVie position by 31.5% in the first quarter, selling 25,600 shares and retaining 55,613 shares valued at approximately $12.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70.23% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with AbbVie carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $268.10. Recent targets from Citigroup and UBS rose to $260, although both firms retained neutral ratings.
• AbbVie recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $2.65 in adjusted EPS and $15 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share. However, a Phase 3 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its primary endpoint, creating a setback for the oncology pipeline.

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 31.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,613 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,600 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $12,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 16,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 4.6% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the company's stock worth $22,281,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 117.3% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,135,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,685,000 after purchasing an additional 612,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie is expected to report earnings next week, and several market write-ups highlight the stock as a potential winner if results or guidance beat expectations. Analysts also noted the shares may have room to rise if the company delivers on revenue and profit growth. AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a constructive view on AbbVie, with a report saying the stock price is expected to rise, which may be helping sentiment around the name. AbbVie NYSE: ABBV Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: AbbVie also announced progress on early-stage pipeline work for nacresertib and ABBV-313, but these updates are preliminary and are unlikely to move the stock as much as late-stage clinical data. AbbVie Advances Nacresertib With Key Drug–Drug Interaction Study AbbVie’s ABBV-313 Phase 1 Trial: What Early Safety Work Means for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie and Genmab said the Phase 3 EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial for lymphoma drug epcoritamab missed its sole U.S. primary endpoint, a setback that could weigh on sentiment toward the company’s oncology pipeline. Genmab, AbbVie Say Lymphoma Drug Failed to Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Evercore set a $235.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.10.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE ABBV opened at $259.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $457.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.30. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.62 and a twelve month high of $261.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $234.57 and its 200 day moving average is $222.88.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 576.45%. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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