Highland Capital Management LLC Has $11.54 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management increased its stake in AbbVie by 22.8% in Q4 and now owns 50,496 shares worth about $11.54 million.
• AbbVie topped quarterly estimates with $2.65 EPS (vs. $2.59) and $15 billion in revenue (up 12.4% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share (annualized $6.92, ~3.3% yield).
• Company insiders sold sizable positions (EVP Perry Siatis sold 22,381 shares; SVP David Purdue sold 5,230), while institutional investors own ~70.2% of the stock and analysts carry a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $252.90.

Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,496 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,365 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WestEnd Advisors LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 160.4% in the 4th quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $208.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.57 and a twelve month high of $244.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $214.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.49.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 911.57% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on AbbVie from $299.00 to $294.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,771,510. The trade was a 36.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $619,868.24. The trade was a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie 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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