SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,484 shares of the company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $193.52 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The company has a market cap of $341.73 billion, a PE ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $183.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued 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. 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other 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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. HSBC upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.