Aufman Associates Inc Reduces Holdings in AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Aufman Associates Inc lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,261 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up approximately 0.5% of Aufman Associates Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Aufman Associates Inc’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.2%

ABBV opened at $208.7240 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.81 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.39, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a return on equity of 699.66% and a net margin of 6.45%.The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 312.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $216.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $231.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.95.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total value of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

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.