Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 3.6% in the first quarter, owning 44,670 shares worth approximately $9.36 million after selling 1,650 shares.
• Institutional investors hold 70.23% of AbbVie’s shares, with significant stakes being increased by firms such as Goldman Sachs and Vanguard Group.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,670 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,650 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,439,271,000 after acquiring an additional 845,787 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,038,898,000 after acquiring an additional 778,126 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AbbVie by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,824,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,878,236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,299,645 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in AbbVie by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,410,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,915,990,000 after acquiring an additional 959,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $198.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $349.96 billion, a PE ratio of 94.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $189.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.21.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.43.

About AbbVie

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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