Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 39.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 66,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,902 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,480,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 13.0% in the third quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 21.3% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $162.55. 5,171,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,659,469. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89. The stock has a market cap of $287.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a return on equity of 165.18% and a net margin of 11.02%. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.31.

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.