AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 74.7%, owning 42,778 shares after selling 126,596 shares in the first quarter.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates of $3.24, while its revenue of $15.42 billion exceeded analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in a 3.1% yield, with a payout ratio of 312.38% as of the last report.

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 74.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,778 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,596 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.2%

AbbVie stock opened at $209.5410 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.78, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $192.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.81. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.