Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,533 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $56,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 32,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,504,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 38,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,561,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 479.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 31,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $193.40. The company had a trading volume of 4,312,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,427,167. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.85 and a 52 week high of $199.95.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 EPS 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 183.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $49,497,875.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. HSBC raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on AbbVie from $187.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

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.