Sei Investments Co. Buys 48,722 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 11.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 484,279 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,722 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $83,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $193.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $341.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $199.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.80. 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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.