Panagora Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 65.1%, selling 414,365 shares and holding 221,699 shares worth approximately $46.45 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share for the last quarter, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $3.24, despite revenues increasing 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $6.56, indicating a dividend yield of 3.1%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 65.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 414,365 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $46,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 82.9% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in AbbVie by 197.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE ABBV traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $210.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,259,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,419,273. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $371.42 billion, a PE ratio of 100.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $195.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.54.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie'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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ABBV. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.