Edgar Lomax Co. VA Trims Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Edgar Lomax Co. VA significantly reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. by 56.5%, owning 28,068 shares after selling 36,505 shares in the first quarter, with holdings valued at approximately $5.88 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in AbbVie during the fourth quarter, with notable increases from Brighton Jones LLC (17.4%) and Revolve Wealth Partners LLC (72.7%).
• AbbVie recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing an annualized rate of $6.56 with a yield of 3.2%, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

Edgar Lomax Co. VA cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 56.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,068 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,505 shares during the quarter. Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 601,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,805,000 after acquiring an additional 52,379 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $3,256,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA now owns 9,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. BNP Paribas raised shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $206.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $365.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $191.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.31. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business's 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other 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 transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Company 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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