Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 203,970 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,731 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $34,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AXS Investments LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,791,000 after buying an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.7% during the 1st 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 period. FCG Investment Co purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,413,000. Finally, Safeguard Financial LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $194.18 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.85 and a 52-week high of $199.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.83 and its 200 day moving average is $175.26. The company has a market cap of $342.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.62, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, William Blair raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.