Verity & Verity LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,069 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 3.0% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $26,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in AbbVie by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 30,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,684,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in AbbVie by 234.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 245,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,047,000 after buying an additional 172,192 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 95,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 70,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,956,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 155,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $196.91 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $135.85 and a one year high of $199.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.43, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.