Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,794 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $17,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,448,000 after purchasing an additional 15,550 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 23.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,169,000 after buying an additional 10,768 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 42,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,590,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.3 %

ABBV opened at $214.45 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $378.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.35, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $191.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.18.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.