Washington Growth Strategies LLC Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Washington Growth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1,947.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,299 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,089 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.6% of Washington Growth Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Washington Growth Strategies LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 82.9% during the 1st quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.22.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE ABBV opened at $234.07 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $210.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.49 billion, a PE ratio of 111.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.51. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

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.