AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. cut its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 0.8% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,025,605,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978,415 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 249.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120,310 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,110,601 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake 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 worth $632,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $367,372,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock opened at $195.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $345.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.09, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.36. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.85 and a 52 week high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued 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. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. HSBC raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

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.