Exeter Financial LLC Cuts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Exeter Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.7% of Exeter Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Coast Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,413,000. Safeguard Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $235,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $193.57 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $199.95. The company has a market capitalization of $341.82 billion, a PE ratio of 57.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $193.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.84.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.67.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, 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 transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.