Alberta Investment Management Corp Trims Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 89.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,400 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in AbbVie by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 13,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $268,000. TKG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $2,309,000. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. now owns 4,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $202.03 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The company has a market capitalization of $356.64 billion, a PE ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.29.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie 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.