Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. Buys 10,017 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,499 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,017 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 0.9% of Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,229,888,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 6.2% during 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 period. Capital World Investors grew 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 valued at $796,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in AbbVie by 6.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,098,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,758,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110,601 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in AbbVie by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,422,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,252,000 after buying an additional 2,390,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.29.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $1.04 on Tuesday, hitting $191.22. The company had a trading volume of 3,477,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,561,967. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $193.91. The stock has a market cap of $337.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.93.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $49,497,875.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie 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.