Choate Investment Advisors Acquires 2,972 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,792 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,972 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $12,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $211.90 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.10. The company has a market cap of $374.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 period last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a 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 for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.