Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,098 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 0.9% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $22,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 119,141 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 42,370 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.42, for a total transaction of $8,407,055.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,178,278.64. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 13,295 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.51, for a total transaction of $2,639,190.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,562,611.97. The trade was a 18.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $204.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.81 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $190.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.86. The firm has a market cap of $361.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by ($0.27). AbbVie had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 699.66%. The business had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABBV. Bank of America upped their price objective on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Daiwa America raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.95.

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.