Welch Group LLC Has $68.19 Million Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 367,359 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,347 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 2.8% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $68,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. FF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in AbbVie by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seneca House Advisors grew its position in AbbVie by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $230.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $244.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.71. The stock has a market cap of $407.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.94, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. This represents a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Berenberg Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.90.

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.