AXS Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• AXS Investments LLC reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 16.5%, holding 6,802 shares worth approximately $1.43 million after selling 1,342 shares in the first quarter.
• AbbVie reported a quarterly EPS of $2.97, missing expectations, although its revenue of $15.42 billion exceeded estimates by $490 million.
• The company is set to distribute a quarterly dividend of $1.64 on August 15th, translating to an annual yield of 3.3%.

AXS Investments LLC cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,342 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.77. 4,683,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,278,528. The stock has a market cap of $351.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.65, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $189.13 and its 200-day moving average is $190.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup increased 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.