Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Has $2.31 Million Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 414 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after purchasing an additional 273,078 shares in the last quarter. United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 199.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 30,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,097,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $186.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $330.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.74, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.18.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

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.