World Investment Advisors Buys 16,105 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,495 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,105 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP increased its stake in AbbVie by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $204.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $199.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.22. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.52 billion, a PE ratio of 85.39, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie 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.