Nuveen LLC Acquires New Shares in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired over 8.6 million shares of AbbVie Inc., valued at approximately $1.82 billion, making AbbVie the 28th largest position in its portfolio.
• Analysts have given AbbVie a "Moderate Buy" rating, with target prices ranging from $205 to $255, indicating strong market support for the stock.
• AbbVie also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, offering an annualized yield of 3.3%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 8,682,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,819,154,000. AbbVie accounts for 0.6% of Nuveen LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.49% of AbbVie as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 3,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $573,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $198.10 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 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 $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $349.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie 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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