Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,649 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,273 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $48,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 34,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $4,449,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,374,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,060,000 after purchasing an additional 93,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $775,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie 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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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 $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $197.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.34. The stock has a market cap of $348.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.85 and a 12 month high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, HSBC raised 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. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.64.

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.