Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $248.78 Million Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. by 2.6%, now owning 1,188,450 shares, which comprise about 4.8% of its portfolio, valued at approximately $248.8 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS), missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 while achieving revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share on November 14th, representing an annualized dividend of $6.56 with a yield of 3.0%.

Guinness Asset Management LTD trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,188,450 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,927 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 4.8% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned 0.07% of AbbVie worth $248,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock worth $36,439,271,000 after purchasing an additional 845,787 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 189,294 shares during 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 acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% during 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 valued at $2,675,959,000 after acquiring an additional 713,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $2,142,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,780 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.8%

AbbVie stock traded down $1.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $218.40. 4,418,717 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,347,903. 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 cap of $385.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $221.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.52.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.10.

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.