Anchor Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,015 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 1.5% of Anchor Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,586,948,000 after purchasing an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $4,459,385,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $178.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $199.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.35. The company has a market cap of $316.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.57, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.