Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Key Points

• Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. by 6.3%, selling 3,835 shares and now holding 56,937 shares, valued at approximately $11.93 million.
• AbbVie reported quarterly earnings of $2.46 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $13.34 billion, reflecting an 8.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 3.45% and a high dividend payout ratio of 279.15%.

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,937 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,835 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.1% of Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 16.0% during the first quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 4,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% during the first quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 23,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its holdings in AbbVie by 12.8% during the first quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 13.8% during the first quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 112,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,515,000 after purchasing an additional 13,570 shares during the period. Finally, First National Advisers LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $215,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AbbVie stock traded up $2.78 on Thursday, reaching $192.09. The company had a trading volume of 4,606,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,827,349. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $187.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.95. The firm has a market cap of $339.31 billion, a PE ratio of 81.68, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.48. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 279.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.29.

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.