Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 0.9% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,064,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $205.12 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $197.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.91.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.