Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Argus raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $197.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $348.66 billion, a PE ratio of 82.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.11. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $207.32. 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 data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.