AbbVie Inc. $ABBV Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 57,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,189 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,917,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,439,271,000 after acquiring an additional 845,787 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,013,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,612,357,000 after buying an additional 189,294 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,646,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,068,820,000 after buying an additional 3,519,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,675,959,000 after buying an additional 713,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,413,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,972,050,000 after buying an additional 45,871 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

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 owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,562,611.97. This trade represents a 18.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.7%

ABBV stock opened at $231.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $408.53 billion, a PE ratio of 110.12, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $213.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.43. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.81 and a one year high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.24 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 312.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $220.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.