Forefront Analytics LLC Invests $1.28 Million in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Forefront Analytics LLC has invested approximately $1.28 million in AbbVie Inc., acquiring 6,872 shares during the second quarter.
• Analysts have changed their ratings on AbbVie, with Morgan Stanley raising the target price from $250.00 to $255.00 and Berenberg Bank lifting it from $170.00 to $270.00.
• AbbVie will issue a quarterly dividend of $1.64, with an annualized yield of 2.8%, which will be paid on November 14th.

Forefront Analytics LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 82.9% in the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Berenberg Bank raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $220.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.90.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $230.88 on Friday. 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 price is $214.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.79. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $244.81. The stock has a market cap of $407.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business'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 value of $2,639,190.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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