N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,716 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 66,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,357,000 after acquiring an additional 18,902 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 80,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,446,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $336,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $1,756,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 137,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,291,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.6 %

ABBV stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $162.73. 5,834,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,663,803. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.51. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $288.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a return on equity of 165.18% and a net margin of 11.02%. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.31.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total transaction of $24,572,458.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 519,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,020,679.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total transaction of $24,572,458.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,020,679.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is 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.