Westover Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 2,696 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 30.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,674 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,696 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $194.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.83 and a 200 day moving average of $175.26. The company has a market capitalization of $342.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.62, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. 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 current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.