Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Sells 836 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,662 shares of the company’s stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $202.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap 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. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.