AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Skba Capital Management LLC

Skba Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 12.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares during the period. United Bank acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $152,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 557,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,062,000 after purchasing an additional 256,406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $205.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $197.50 and a 200-day moving average of $188.91. The company has a market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

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 the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, 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 transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ABBV. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Company 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.