LGT Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

LGT Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 0.9% of LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $192.71 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $183.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The firm 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%. AbbVie’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 company insiders.

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.