Paragon Capital Management LLC Buys 211 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Paragon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,260 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $211.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $373.44 billion, a PE ratio of 88.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 3.10%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AbbVie

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.