Driehaus Capital Management LLC Takes Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,586,948,000 after buying an additional 983,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in AbbVie by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,038,898,000 after buying an additional 778,126 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $184.30 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $326.02 billion, a PE ratio of 76.79, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.23 and a 200-day moving average of $187.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.41.

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.