Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $16.07 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter, holding 86,593 shares worth approximately $16.07 million.
• AbbVie reported earnings of $2.97 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, while revenue rose by 6.6% year-over-year to $15.42 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing a yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 312.38%.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,593 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,188 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company's stock worth $36,439,271,000 after buying an additional 845,787 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock worth $4,612,357,000 after acquiring an additional 189,294 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after buying an additional 3,519,187 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the company's stock worth $2,675,959,000 after purchasing an additional 713,148 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Berenberg Bank upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $223.09. 5,989,926 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,689,837. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.09 billion, a PE ratio of 106.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.81 and a 1-year high of $225.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.84.

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). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 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.