First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stake in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in AbbVie by 8.8% during the second quarter, now holding 37,267 shares valued at approximately $6.92 million.
• AbbVie recently reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing expectations, but its revenue increased by 6.6% year-over-year to $15.42 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, yielding 2.9%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 8.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,267 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,614 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 12.0% during the second quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 6,204 shares of the company's stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 67,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,464,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 10.5% in the second quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 18.4% in the second quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 2,551 shares of the company's stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $566,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $229.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's 50 day moving average is $219.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.28. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $244.81. The firm has a market cap of $405.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.23, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $251.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.80.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABBV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.