Hamlin Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter, making it the firm's largest holding with a total value of approximately $221.1 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for AbbVie are mostly positive, with Cantor Fitzgerald giving an "overweight" rating and a target price of $210, while the average target price across several analysts is $214.95.
• AbbVie has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a current yield of 3.3%, and will be payable to shareholders on August 15th.

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,055,406 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,267 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 5.3% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of AbbVie worth $221,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ABBV opened at $201.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $355.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.39 and a 200 day moving average of $191.67.

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 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 company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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