Sterling Investment Management LLC Sells 445 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sterling Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for about 2.3% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 218.4% in the 2nd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 39.5% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,895,641.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,895,641.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $180.35 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.96 and a 1 year high of $182.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.34 billion, a PE ratio of 66.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.60 EPS. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.43.

AbbVie 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.