Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 3.3%, now holding 156,526 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• AbbVie reported $2.97 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $3.24, despite exceeding revenue forecasts with $15.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a payout ratio currently at 312.38%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,526 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,298 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $29,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 845,787 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company's stock worth $4,612,357,000 after purchasing an additional 189,294 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,413,033 shares of the company's stock worth $1,972,050,000 after purchasing an additional 45,871 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.1%

AbbVie stock opened at $230.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $214.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.76. 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 firm 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.90.

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.

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.