Valmark Advisers Inc. Increases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,763 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in AbbVie by 197.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $183.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $324.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $185.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.84.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 279.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.29.

About AbbVie

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.