Blue Chip Partners LLC Has $32.50 Million Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 182,916 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 2.8% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $32,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $193.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.42, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $178.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

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.