MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 9,593 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC sold 9,593 shares of AbbVie Inc., reducing its holdings by 1.9% to own a total of 491,973 shares valued at approximately $103 million.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 per share, missing estimates, but achieved revenues of $15.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Institutional ownership of AbbVie stands at 70.23%, with significant stake increases from several hedge funds during the recent quarter.

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,973 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,593 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.6% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $103,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 845,787 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock worth $4,612,357,000 after purchasing an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,058,706 shares of the company's stock worth $2,142,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $210.2840 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $192.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $371.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Company 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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