Marshall Wace LLP Has $151.95 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 885,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 791,353 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.05% of AbbVie worth $151,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $193.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $189.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.85 and a 12 month high of $199.95. The company has a market capitalization of $342.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given 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 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. HSBC upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

About AbbVie

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.