Strong Tower Advisory Services Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 16.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,119 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,025,605,000 after purchasing an additional 9,978,415 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in AbbVie by 6.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after acquiring an additional 3,110,601 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in AbbVie by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 31,295,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,698,847,000 after purchasing an additional 992,496 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,277,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,382,000 after buying an additional 134,239 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,898,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,984,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,434 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.0 %

ABBV stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $194.37. 471,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,292,299. The company has a market capitalization of $343.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.30. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.85 and a 12 month high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 206.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. 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 research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.00.

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.