Boston Research & Management Inc. Has $9.26 Million Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Boston Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,136 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 2.3% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 47,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,664 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,974,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $883,992,000 after buying an additional 50,243 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $144,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This 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 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $205.12 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $197.50 and its 200 day moving average is $188.91. 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 stock 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 issued 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABBV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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 upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.