Summit Financial LLC Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Summit Financial LLC has increased its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 24.5%, owning 59,446 shares worth approximately $12.45 million after acquiring an additional 11,701 shares in the first quarter.
• Several research firms have raised their price targets and ratings for AbbVie, with Raymond James Financial increasing its target from $227 to $236, reflecting strong confidence among analysts.
• AbbVie recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing a significant annualized dividend yield of 3.1%, despite a high payout ratio of 312.38%.

Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,446 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,701 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $12,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 31.6% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,058,706 shares of the company's stock worth $2,142,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 25,841.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,234,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,144,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABBV. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $227.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $231.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $208.7240 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.81 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.39, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The business's fifty day moving average price is $192.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.68.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

About AbbVie

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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