AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Position Lifted by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,232 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 198 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up about 0.6% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $186.58 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $200.61 and a 200-day moving average of $189.24. 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 twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $330.06 billion, a PE ratio of 77.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

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.