Howard Financial Services LTD. Increases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,647 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,025,605,000 after purchasing an additional 9,978,415 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in AbbVie by 249.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in AbbVie by 6.9% during 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. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 156.0% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,474,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,997 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $367,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $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.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $193.10 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.27, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.05. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.67.

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.