Balentine LLC Sells 33,385 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Balentine LLC cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,385 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 84,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 7,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $196.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $184.40 and its 200-day moving average is $174.74. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $199.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The stock has a market cap of $346.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie 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 sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $12,403,580.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AbbVie from $196.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $191.64.

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.