Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 1,622 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,020 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises about 0.8% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale 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 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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 through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $194.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.22. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The company has a market capitalization of $343.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus 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.