77,996 Shares in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Acquired by NFJ Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc., purchasing 77,996 shares valued at approximately $16.34 million during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in AbbVie, with institutional investors now owning 70.23% of the company's stock.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 3.1%, despite having a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 77,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,342,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in AbbVie by 0.9% in the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 223,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 2.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 510,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,863,000 after purchasing an additional 12,783 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 3.3% in the first quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 44,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in AbbVie by 19.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 339,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,168,000 after purchasing an additional 54,966 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 6.7% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded down $2.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $209.97. 5,524,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,513,979. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $197.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.08.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

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.