Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 40.6%, acquiring an additional 170,629 shares to hold a total of 590,956 shares, making it the 25th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Analysts are largely optimistic about AbbVie, with four rating it as a Strong Buy and an average target price of $214.95.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, to be paid on November 14th, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 590,956 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 170,629 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in AbbVie were worth $123,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,819,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $3,068,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,058,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,142,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 147.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,752,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641,091 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 4.0%

ABBV traded up $8.45 on Thursday, reaching $220.09. 7,647,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,489,339. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $221.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.48. The company has a market cap of $388.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

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.