Ameriflex Group Inc. Increases Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 106.3% during the first quarter, owning 6,304 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million at the end of the reporting period.
• AbbVie reported a quarterly EPS of $2.97, which fell short of the consensus estimate, although its revenue of $15.42 billion surpassed expectations.
• The company declared a $1.64 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 3.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 106.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,304 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $2,302,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 7,922 shares of the company's stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas grew its position in AbbVie by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 47,815 shares of the company's stock worth $8,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $211.59. The company had a trading volume of 3,973,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,208,400. The company has a market capitalization of $373.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.