NFP Retirement Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

NFP Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,908 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, 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 have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $174.90 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.87, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.49.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 last year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.