United Asset Strategies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. by 27.5%, selling 3,811 shares to hold a total of 10,028 shares worth $2,101,000.
• AbbVie reported earnings per share of $2.97 for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $3.24, but revenue was up 6.6% year-over-year at $15.42 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.64 per share, representing a 3.1% yield and a payout ratio of 312.38%.

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 27.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,028 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,811 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 438.4% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 35,311 shares of the company's stock worth $6,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,753 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 25.3% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in AbbVie by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 971,893 shares of the company's stock worth $172,705,000 after purchasing an additional 125,568 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 46,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,727,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $208.7240 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $368.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.81 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.68.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during 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 revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

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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