Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 43.9%, now holding 4,739 shares valued at approximately $993,000.
• Despite some investors increasing their holdings, such as Integrity Alliance LLC by 974.6%, the overall hedge fund ownership of AbbVie is 70.23%.
• AbbVie announced a $1.64 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 3.1%, while the company’s recent earnings report showed revenue of $15.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 43.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,711 shares during the quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in AbbVie by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 538,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,768,000 after acquiring an additional 39,164 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 974.6% during the 1st quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 22,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,778,000 after acquiring an additional 20,680 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,769,000. Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 413,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspen Investment Management Inc increased its holdings in AbbVie by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 4,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $210.46 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.81 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $371.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50-day moving average is $198.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

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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