SCS Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 17,600 AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc., purchasing 17,600 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million during the first quarter.
• Analysts have generally given AbbVie a positive outlook, with price targets being raised to as high as $255, indicating strong expectations for the company's performance.
• AbbVie has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with an anticipated annualized dividend of $6.56 and a dividend yield of 3.1%, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,688,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,439,271,000 after acquiring an additional 845,787 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,612,357,000 after acquiring an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,675,959,000 after acquiring an additional 713,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 18.5% in 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 valued at $2,142,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,780 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of 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. Four 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $8.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $220.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,647,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,197,288. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.48. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $221.77. The company has a market cap of $388.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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%. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company 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.