Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 487,259 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 60% during the first quarter, selling 487,259 shares, leaving it with 324,841 shares valued at approximately $68 million.
• AbbVie reported an earnings per share of $2.46 for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.40, and showed an 8.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, corresponding to an annual yield of 3.48%, indicating a high dividend payout ratio of 279.15%.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 60.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,841 shares of the company's stock after selling 487,259 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 1.0% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $68,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $188.47 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $187.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.20, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.29.

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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