Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Grows Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 376,403 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,470 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 0.8% of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $78,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $1,819,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,068,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,824,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,878,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,769,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $206.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.32 billion, a PE ratio of 98.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.47.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.