Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,870 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up about 0.8% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $47,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,025,605,000 after acquiring an additional 9,978,415 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in AbbVie by 6.9% in the first 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in AbbVie by 3.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 31,295,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,698,847,000 after acquiring an additional 992,496 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 12.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,898,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,984,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in AbbVie by 13.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,744,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,956,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291,201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $193.63 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.85 and a 1 year high of $199.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.71. The firm has a market cap of $341.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.46, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

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.