Insider Selling: AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) EVP Sells $11,925,738.40 in Stock

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) EVP Jeffrey Stewart sold 40,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.60, for a total transaction of $11,925,738.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,419,005.60. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ABBV stock traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $294.75. 4,825,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,312,433. The stock has a market cap of $521.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.18. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $302.93.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.09. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 450.55% and a net margin of 15.67%. The firm had revenue of $17.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 13.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 15th will be paid a $1.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 15th. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.73. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AbbVie

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth $29,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 3,060.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $310.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $284.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.46.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets medicines for a range of serious health conditions. Its research and product portfolio spans immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas. Key products include the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta, and neuroscience therapies including Botox and Vraylar. Through its Allergan acquisition, AbbVie also offers aesthetics products such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvéderm.