AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by Advocate Group LLC

Advocate Group LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,294 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.8% of Advocate Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $15,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,025,605,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978,415 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after buying an additional 3,110,601 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 31,295,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,698,847,000 after buying an additional 992,496 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,277,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,382,000 after purchasing an additional 134,239 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 12.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,898,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,984,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,434 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $194.54. The company had a trading volume of 207,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,299,780. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm has a market cap of $343.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.74, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.18. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $135.85 and a one year high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.00.

AbbVie 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.