Caprock Group LLC Increases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 69.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,450 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,382 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.3 %

ABBV opened at $193.40 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $199.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $341.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $183.88 and its 200-day moving average is $174.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly 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. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

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.