Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,122 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Verus Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.0% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 11,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 66,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 14,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 7,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $205.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $362.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.44, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.85.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.