AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $22,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $192.89 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.85 and a 12-month high of $199.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $340.62 billion, a PE ratio of 57.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. 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 stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.