Essex LLC Cuts Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Essex LLC lowered its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the second quarter worth $27,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $188.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.74. The stock has a market cap of $333.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $214.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.47.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

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.