Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $1.54 Billion Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,956,977 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 273,429 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,536,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 6.2% during 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 during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in AbbVie by 249.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $632,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,997 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth approximately $367,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

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 transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.1 %

AbbVie stock opened at $194.21 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.22. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.85 and a 52 week high of $199.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.04 billion, a PE ratio of 57.63, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

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.