Liberty Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,079 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 5.3% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 2,079 shares, bringing its total to 41,265 shares valued at approximately $7.66 million.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 EPS, missing estimates of $3.24 EPS, while revenue increased by 6.6% year-over-year to $15.42 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.8%, reflecting a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,265 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,079 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 1.5% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 82.9% in the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $231.47 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $232.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $408.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $207.89 and a 200-day moving average of $195.37.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four research 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 MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business'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 directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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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