AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Acquired by Washington Growth Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Washington Growth Strategies LLC significantly increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 1,947.1%, owning 4,299 shares valued at approximately $798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the quarter.
• AbbVie's quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting $2.97 earnings per share compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24, but the company saw revenues of $15.42 billion, above the expected $14.93 billion.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with an annualized payout of $6.56, marking a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Washington Growth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 1,947.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,299 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 0.6% of Washington Growth Strategies LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Washington Growth Strategies LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 9.0% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 336,659 shares of the company's stock worth $70,537,000 after acquiring an additional 27,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 10.0% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 7,901 shares of the company's stock worth $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ABBV opened at $234.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $413.49 billion, a PE ratio of 111.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average is $210.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.01. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $251.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, HSBC set a $225.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.22.

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.

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