Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $76.72 Million Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 4.0%, owning 366,187 shares now valued at approximately $76.7 million.
• Notable hedge fund activity includes GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by over 25,000%, now owning more than 10 million shares worth over $2.14 billion.
• AbbVie announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64, representing a 3.3% yield, with an upcoming payment date on August 15th.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 366,187 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,089 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.1% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $76,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim upped their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,101,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,210,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $189.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.35. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.74.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

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.