AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stock Sold by Sanders Capital LLC

Sanders Capital LLC lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 462,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,240 shares during the quarter. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $121,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 88.4% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 12,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,334,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in AbbVie by 6.4% in the third quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 2.0% during the third quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,387,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,311,000. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.8% during the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Key AbbVie News

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie’s third-quarter results beat expectations, with revenue of $17.4 billion, and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook. The earnings report has strengthened the growth case for the shares. AbbVie stock climbs as Q3 earnings fuel growth case
• Positive Sentiment: A licensing agreement with Nxera Pharma for an EP4 agonist gives AbbVie another potential inflammatory bowel disease treatment candidate. The deal may add to its pipeline as investors assess the durability of its newer growth drivers. Nxera licenses EP4 agonist to AbbVie
• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie recently reached a fresh high following its earnings beat and a dividend increase, while analysts remain broadly optimistic. This supports investor interest in the stock as a defensive healthcare name. AbbVie’s new growth engines face another test
• Negative Sentiment: AbbVie’s shares have already climbed substantially and are near their 52-week high, leaving less room for disappointment. Humira’s decline also means the company must continue demonstrating that newer products can sustain growth. The one thing to settle before buying AbbVie stock

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $291.51. The stock had a trading volume of 5,039,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,346,511. The company has a market cap of $515.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $271.98 and a 200 day moving average of $239.04. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $302.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.32 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.67% and a negative return on equity of 435.41%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.99 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be paid a $1.82 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.10%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 32,710 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $8,177,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,430 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,500. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $309.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $258.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $290.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on AbbVie from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.46.

AbbVie Company Profile

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.

AbbVie was established in 2013 as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.