Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 488,940 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,250,771 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 488,940 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 0.9% of Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of AbbVie worth $466,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 7,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in AbbVie by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $204.78 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $190.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.86. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $361.75 billion, a PE ratio of 97.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly 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). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% 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.

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.