Cornerstone Advisors LLC Acquires 600 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $15,614,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 26,693.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $186,431,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1 %

ABBV opened at $216.62 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.61. The company has a market capitalization of $382.41 billion, a PE ratio of 90.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

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.