Belmont Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Belmont Capital LLC reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 59.7% in Q1, selling 4,023 shares and now owning 2,718 shares worth $569,000.
• Numerous hedge funds have shifted their stakes in AbbVie, with Crestline Management LP increasing its stake by 438.4% during the previous quarter.
• AbbVie reported Q2 earnings of $2.97 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24, despite a revenue increase of 6.6% year-over-year.

Belmont Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 59.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,718 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,023 shares during the quarter. Belmont Capital LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in AbbVie by 438.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after buying an additional 28,753 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 25.3% in the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in the first quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,800,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.3%

ABBV stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $212.34. 4,465,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,155,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $197.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.15. The company has a market cap of $375.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

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