AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Position Decreased by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,086 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 2.4% of Sepio Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $29,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599,336 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in AbbVie by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,875 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $186.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.21. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $330.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.74, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.