United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 5,199 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 198,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,199 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $35,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $178.97 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $199.91 and its 200-day moving average is $188.35. 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 has a market capitalization of $316.59 billion, a PE ratio of 74.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.71.

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.