Prosperitas Financial LLC Raises Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.3% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Retirement Income Solutions Inc purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 17.8% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,150,000. Wsfs Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the first quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in AbbVie by 80.4% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 75,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,242,000 after buying an additional 33,661 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.56. 1,508,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,616,500. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $176.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.81. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $130.96 and a one year high of $182.89. The stock has a market cap of $289.61 billion, a PE ratio of 59.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. AbbVie’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, CFO Scott T. Reents sold 14,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total value of $2,509,001.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,802,413.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott T. Reents sold 14,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.44, for a total transaction of $2,509,001.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,065 shares in the company, valued at $4,802,413.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.