IMS Capital Management Buys New Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management has acquired a new position in AbbVie Inc., purchasing 8,490 shares valued at approximately $1,576,000 in the second quarter.
• AbbVie is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.9%, on November 14th, 2023.
• Recent insider sales by executives, including a 19.29% reduction in shares by EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, have raised some concerns regarding internal confidence in the stock.

IMS Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,576,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $190,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 value of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade 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 owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $222.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.04. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.81 and a fifty-two week high of $225.16. The firm has a market cap of $393.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.45.

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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