Enhancing Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $213.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.31. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market cap of $377.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.08, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie 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 value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities 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 $211.45.

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.