Liberty Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 71.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,641 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,833 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 4,140.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $196.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.86 billion, a PE ratio of 58.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.74. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.85 and a 1 year high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABBV. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.