IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.7 %

ABBV opened at $202.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $196.83 and its 200-day moving average is $188.96. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 EPS. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’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 value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

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.