Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $27,804,000. Keb Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 252,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,915,000 after purchasing an additional 27,937 shares during the period. SLT Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 58,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $214.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $378.75 billion, a PE ratio of 89.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.47. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $215.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 3.06%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

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.