CCM Investment Advisers LLC Buys 1,371 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,244 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.6% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,277,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,382,000 after acquiring an additional 134,239 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,691,732,000 after acquiring an additional 511,470 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 6.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,642,000 after purchasing an additional 373,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ABBV traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.07. 1,795,748 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,468,906. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.50.

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.