Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $209.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $194.49 and its 200-day moving average is $188.73. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $370.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

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 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 $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 yield of 3.12%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.