Strs Ohio Invests $158.73 Million in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 757,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,727,000. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.7% of Strs Ohio’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.6% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 33,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,950,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 2.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 579,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,475,000 after acquiring an additional 12,221 shares in the last quarter. SWS Partners increased its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% during the first quarter. SWS Partners now owns 14,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 4.0% during the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westbourne Investments Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% during the first quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. now owns 7,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $211.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $199.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. The firm has a market cap of $374.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.88, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.53. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 312.38%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,178,278.64. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Daiwa America upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.95.

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.