Connors Investor Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Connors Investor Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,582 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 1.7% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frisch Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie 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 owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $195.78 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $187.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The stock has a market cap of $345.72 billion, a PE ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.85 and a 52 week high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

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.