Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,956,977 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 273,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.51% of AbbVie worth $1,536,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 9,978,415 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,120,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in AbbVie by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after acquiring an additional 3,110,601 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 156.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,474,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $367,372,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ABBV. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $194.21 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $199.95. The company has a market cap of $343.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.22. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. 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 presently 183.98%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.