AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Position Boosted by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 1.5% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $35,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 53.4% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 486,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,363,000 after buying an additional 169,211 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 3.2% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in AbbVie by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,533 shares in the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 37,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $12,403,580.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AbbVie news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 446,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,299,645.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 282,845 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 513,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,792,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $193.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.85 and a fifty-two week high of $199.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.46.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, July 26th. 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. William Blair upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.64.

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.