WFA Asset Management Corp Boosts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.6% of WFA Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in AbbVie by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Goepper Burkhardt LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Goepper Burkhardt LLC now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 18,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudock Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 2,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price target on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. William Blair raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.41. The stock had a trading volume of 5,532,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.10. The stock has a market cap of $294.65 billion, a PE ratio of 60.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 EPS. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.11%.

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.