Mechanics Bank Trust Department Raises Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,496 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $3,229,888,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 170,376,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,025,605,000 after purchasing an additional 9,978,415 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in AbbVie by 249.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,373,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after buying an additional 3,110,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in AbbVie by 39.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,390,239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.93. 3,206,539 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,580,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.39 billion, a PE ratio of 56.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $193.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.27.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 186.82% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.87 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the 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 in the company, 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 the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.