Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 12.8%, owning 109,626 shares worth approximately $22.97 million.
• Analysts' ratings for AbbVie show a consensus of "Moderate Buy," with price targets ranging from $204 to $255 following recent upgrades.
• AbbVie declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, projected to yield 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,626 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,448 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $22,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the first quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 114,103 shares of the company's stock worth $23,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,465 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth approximately $314,000. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth approximately $192,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 77.2% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% during the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,817 shares of the company's stock worth $6,666,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $209.97 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $370.93 billion, a PE ratio of 99.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $198.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is 312.38%.

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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