GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Increases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. American National Bank lifted its position in AbbVie by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 59,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,791,000 after acquiring an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,296,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV traded up $1.71 on Wednesday, reaching $192.94. 4,153,375 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,552,938. The firm has a market cap of $340.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.64. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two 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.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 186.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.29.

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.