AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by ELCO Management Co. LLC

ELCO Management Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 1.7% of ELCO Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $175.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $200.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.90. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was 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 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

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.