AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Position Decreased by King Luther Capital Management Corp

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter, now holding 838,097 shares worth approximately $175.6 million.
• AbbVie has seen multiple analysts raise their price targets, with Morgan Stanley now targeting $255.00 per share, indicating a positive outlook, as the stock currently averages a “Moderate Buy” rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in a 3.3% dividend yield, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 838,097 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,175 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in AbbVie were worth $175,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 3,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $573,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.43.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

ABBV stock opened at $198.10 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $349.96 billion, a PE ratio of 94.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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