Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 12.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 1.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,403,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.4% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $466,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.4 %

ABBV stock opened at $174.90 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average of $200.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.49. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $309.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.87, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim upped their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company 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.