KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 19,100 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 2.7% during Q2, acquiring an additional 19,100 shares, bringing their total holdings to 735,872 shares, worth approximately $136.6 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share for Q2, missing expectations, despite a revenue increase to $15.42 billion, exceeding predictions by analysts.
• A recent quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share will be paid on November 14th, with an annual yield of 2.8%, despite AbbVie's high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 735,872 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.6% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in AbbVie were worth $136,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,800,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of ABBV opened at $230.28 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.61 and a 200 day moving average of $195.93. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81. The firm has a market cap of $406.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group set a $251.00 target price on AbbVie in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie 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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