Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,847,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307,104 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.22% of AbbVie worth $659,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 249.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120,310 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in AbbVie by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,758,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110,601 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 156.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,474,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,619,000 after buying an additional 2,116,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $367,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. HSBC upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $197.48 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.85 and a twelve month high of $199.95. The company has a market cap of $348.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.34.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.