Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 10%, now holding $3.43 million worth of shares after selling 1,824 shares in Q1.
• AbbVie reported Q2 earnings of $2.97 per share, missing analyst expectations of $3.24, but revenue exceeded estimates at $15.42 billion, a 6.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,385 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,824 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted 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 acquiring an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ABBV traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.10. 4,101,321 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,210,216. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $189.65 and its 200-day moving average is $191.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 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 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 analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.43.

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.