LRI Investments LLC Buys 4,042 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 77.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,252 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 9,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% in the second quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 7,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.6 %

ABBV traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.55. 4,720,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,492,238. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.16. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $197.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.85 billion, a PE ratio of 58.62, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 186.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.