AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Position Lifted by Keynote Financial Services LLC

Keynote Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,999 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 5.6% of Keynote Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Keynote Financial Services LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,014,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.9% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 31,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,176,000 after buying an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 13.0% in the third quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 10,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 23,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,594,000 after buying an additional 3,542 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $209.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $209.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $184.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.95. The company has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Daiwa America lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s 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 owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.