Argent Trust Co Acquires 1,882 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.5% of Argent Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $35,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related 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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $83,299,645.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ABBV. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $193.50 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.46. The stock has a market cap of $341.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

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.