Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 137.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,512 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $193.52 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.85 and a 1 year high of $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.61. The firm has a market cap of $341.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. AbbVie’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

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.