North Star Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,190 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 1.3% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $26,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Finally, First City Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares in the company, valued at $89,792,325. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABBV. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $193.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $341.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.85 and a 1-year high of $199.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.88 and its 200 day moving average is $174.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 203.66% and a net margin of 9.71%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

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.