AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Position Cut by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 1.0% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 12,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 12,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Finally, Seros Financial LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ABBV shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $170.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.05, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.74 and a 200-day moving average of $184.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 227.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company 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.