Paragon Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Paragon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,260 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599,336 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in AbbVie by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503,875 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 26,693.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after buying an additional 1,172,362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $211.54 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.44 billion, a PE ratio of 88.14, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.80 and its 200-day moving average is $188.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.