Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys 5,530 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 7.6%, acquiring 5,530 new shares and bringing their total to 77,819 shares, valued at approximately $16.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Revolve Wealth Partners LLC, have also adjusted their positions in AbbVie during the fourth quarter, highlighting ongoing interest from hedge funds.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with a significantly high dividend payout ratio of 312.38%.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 77,819 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,530 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 0.8% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,486,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 567,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,855,000 after acquiring an additional 12,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 15,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $198.10 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $189.65 and a 200-day moving average of $191.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $214.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.43.

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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