Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Raises Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Southeast Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 18.0% during the first quarter, owning 15,322 shares valued at approximately $3.21 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, but had a revenue growth of 6.6% year-over-year, totaling $15.42 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,322 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $206.78. 1,267,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,572,851. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $194.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.29. The stock has a market cap of $365.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.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 prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

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.