HighTower Advisors LLC Has $372.19 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC slightly reduced its AbbVie stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1.63 million shares valued at about $372.2 million.
• AbbVie reported strong quarterly results, posting earnings of $2.65 per share on $15 billion in revenue, both ahead of analyst expectations, with revenue rising 12.4% year over year.
• The company continued to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.3%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $253.43.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,628,911 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,873 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of AbbVie worth $372,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 457.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,536,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,714,000 after acquiring an additional 8,646,424 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 180,779,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,306,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,438 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,337,480 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753,312 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,281,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in AbbVie by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,508,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,418,909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total transaction of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm'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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $209.57 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.25 and a 52 week high of $244.81. The firm has a market cap of $370.27 billion, a PE ratio of 103.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $209.82 and its 200-day moving average is $219.92.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on AbbVie from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $275.00 price target on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.43.

About AbbVie

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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