AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,753 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $209.07 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $209.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.98. 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 capitalization of $369.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is currently 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.