Sovran Advisors LLC Has $965,000 Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter, owning 5,083 shares valued at $965,000.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations by $0.27, but had a revenue of $15.42 billion, surpassing estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a yield of 3.0%, while its dividend payout ratio stands at an unusually high 312.38%.

Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,083 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $1,819,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,519,187 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 147.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,752,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,091 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $273,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $221.93 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $222.07. The company has a market capitalization of $392.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm 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 for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Berenberg Bank raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.68.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.

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