Sweeney & Michel LLC Invests $1.33 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,000. AbbVie accounts for 0.7% of Sweeney & Michel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kalos Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 67.86% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $151.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $145.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.52. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.96 and a 12-month high of $168.11.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.52 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 151.29%. Equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 12th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 121.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AbbVie from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. HSBC assumed coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies lifted their target price on AbbVie from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on shares of AbbVie from $170.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.15, for a total transaction of $2,759,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 625,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,262,600.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune, intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq, a JAK inhibitor to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, and ulcerative colitis; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat hematological malignancies.