American Trust Reduces Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• American Trust reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 8.6%, owning 17,469 shares worth approximately $3.66 million after selling 1,642 shares in the first quarter.
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.56 with a yield of 3.1%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a revenue of $15.42 billion, surpassing estimates, although EPS of $2.97 fell short of the expected $3.24.

American Trust lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,469 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,642 shares during the quarter. American Trust's holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.4% in the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc increased its stake in AbbVie by 3.2% in the first quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 1,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% in the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 4.0%

ABBV traded up $8.45 on Thursday, hitting $220.09. The company had a trading volume of 7,647,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,489,339. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $221.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm'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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

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.