Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,100 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $171.49 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $207.32. The company has a market capitalization of $303.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.