Kerusso Capital Management LLC Invests $1.07 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,229,888,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,025,605,000 after purchasing an additional 9,978,415 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in AbbVie by 249.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in AbbVie by 6.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in AbbVie by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,422,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,252,000 after buying an additional 2,390,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.3 %

ABBV stock opened at $193.40 on Friday. 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 $341.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $183.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 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.