Strs Ohio Invests $158.73 Million in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested approximately $158.73 million in AbbVie Inc. by purchasing 757,575 shares, marking it as the fund's 19th largest holding.
• AbbVie reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, posting $2.97 EPS compared to the expected $3.24, but achieved a revenue of $15.42 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, scheduled for payment on November 14th, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 757,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $158,727,000. AbbVie makes up about 0.7% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 33,171 shares of the company's stock worth $6,950,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 579,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,475,000 after acquiring an additional 12,221 shares in the last quarter. SWS Partners boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% in the first quarter. SWS Partners now owns 14,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.0% during the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company's stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Westbourne Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the first quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,385 shares of the company's stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $211.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.88, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $199.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.37. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS 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 company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company 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 $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 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

AbbVie Company 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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