Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 2,265 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,265 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $37,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.1 %

ABBV opened at $216.62 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $382.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.26, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.61.

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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.