AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Stake Boosted by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by **8.8%**, owning **123,274 shares** valued at **$25.8 million** at the end of the quarter.
• Recent insider trading involved EVP **Nicholas Donoghoe** selling **13,295 shares** worth approximately **$2.64 million**, and EVP **Azita Saleki-Gerhardt** selling **42,370 shares** for about **$8.41 million**, both reducing their ownership by more than 18%.
• Abbvie recently announced a **quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share**, yielding about **3.2%**, with a notably high **dividend payout ratio of 312.38%**.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,274 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,959 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $25,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ABBV traded up $0.3910 during trading on Thursday, reaching $209.5410. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,240,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,303. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.68. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $370.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Bank of America lifted their target price on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.