Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Raises Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. has increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 0.7%, acquiring an additional 2,839 shares, bringing its total holdings to 395,451 shares valued at approximately $82.9 million.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in a yield of 3.2%, with a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.
• Despite missing earnings estimates for the last quarter, AbbVie's revenue increased by 6.6% year-over-year, amounting to $15.42 billion, indicating solid business performance amidst current market conditions.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,451 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 1.4% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $82,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABBV. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.3%

AbbVie stock traded down $0.5770 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $205.9930. 3,575,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,679,878. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.09, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $191.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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