HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 6,528 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 0.4%, owning 1,580,357 shares valued at approximately $331 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 EPS, falling short of the consensus estimate of $3.24, with a revenue of $15.42 billion, exceeding expectations by $490 million.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share will be paid on August 15, 2023, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,580,357 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,528 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of AbbVie worth $331,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV traded up $3.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $204.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,630,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,725,083. The firm has a market cap of $361.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.39 and a 200-day moving average of $191.67. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $2.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.