Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 2.1%, owning over 4.1 million shares worth approximately $777.7 million as of the latest quarter.
• AbbVie reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, below analysts' expectations of $3.24, despite revenue exceeding forecasts at $15.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, set to be paid on November 14th, with the ex-dividend date on October 15th.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,189,713 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 86,113 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of AbbVie worth $777,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter worth approximately $1,819,154,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AbbVie by 550.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,332,054 shares of the company's stock worth $804,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666,521 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 31.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $581,817,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in AbbVie by 17.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,367,049 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,863 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $227.04 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $244.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $401.08 billion, a PE ratio of 108.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $236.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.80.

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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