AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,138 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 1.4% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction 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 $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4 %

AbbVie stock opened at $209.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.73. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve 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.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted 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 business posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

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.