Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. American National Bank grew its position in AbbVie by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after acquiring an additional 7,737 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 9.7% during the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FCG Investment Co bought a new position in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,413,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $194.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $186.29 and a 200 day moving average of $175.15. The company has a market cap of $342.67 billion, a PE ratio of 57.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current 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 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 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $49,497,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.