AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up about 3.5% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. State Street Corp raised its position in AbbVie by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in 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 valued at $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 4.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,642,000 after purchasing an additional 373,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,119,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,854 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $204.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.61. The stock has a market cap of $360.46 billion, a PE ratio of 85.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $207.32. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. AbbVie’s 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.