Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Verus Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.0% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $999,000. Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 486.1% in the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 676,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,531,000 after purchasing an additional 560,808 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,011,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,169,000 after buying an additional 10,768 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $205.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $362.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.