Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 997,441 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 314.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,315,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 997,441 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.5% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of AbbVie worth $225,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,204,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,737 shares during the period. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $1,296,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $193.90. 3,662,784 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,535,780. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.15. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $194.99. The stock has a market cap of $342.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 186.82%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.87 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.29.

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.