AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 20.0%, selling 42,556 shares and owning 170,298 shares, worth approximately $34.96 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their investments in AbbVie, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its stake by an astounding 25,841.6%.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 279.15%, and plans to pay it on August 15th to investors of record on July 15th.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,298 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,556 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in AbbVie were worth $34,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in AbbVie by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in AbbVie by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 99,436 shares of the company's stock worth $17,670,000 after acquiring an additional 15,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 79,414 shares of the company's stock worth $14,112,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $3.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.31. 2,709,169 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,828,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $339.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $187.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.29.

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.