AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Position Reduced by Guardian Investment Management

Guardian Investment Management lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 12.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,105 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.6% of Guardian Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FF Advisors LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. FF Advisors LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in AbbVie by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Seneca House Advisors increased its position in AbbVie by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.0%

ABBV stock opened at $220.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $206.24 and a 200 day moving average of $195.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.97 billion, a PE ratio of 105.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.81 and a 52 week high of $225.16.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total value of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.45.

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.