Westend Capital Management LLC Has $2.33 Million Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 34,678.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,129 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,097 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.9% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 8,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $181.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $321.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.40, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.76 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.92.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.29.

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.