Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Buys Shares of 23,920 AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. acquired 23,920 shares of AbbVie Inc. worth approximately $4.44 million in the second quarter, signaling increasing institutional interest.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for October 15, representing an annual yield of 2.8%.
• Despite a reported shortfall in earnings per share for the last quarter, analysts maintain a generally positive outlook with an average target price set at $231.90 and multiple upgrades from notable firms.

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Dohj LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 41.8% during the second quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 4,529 shares of the company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,556 shares of the company's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% during the second quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 27,113 shares of the company's stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the first 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 period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.90.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $230.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $407.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $244.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $214.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.76.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. 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 payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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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