Cypress Capital Group Reduces Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,346 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 2.4% of Cypress Capital Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $19,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $208.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.64 and a 200 day moving average of $187.14. 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 $367.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $215.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction 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 approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.95.

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.