AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Marino Stram & Associates LLC

Marino Stram & Associates LLC reduced its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 45,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 11,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Genesis Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $398,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $169.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.75 and its 200-day moving average is $184.84. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. The company has a market capitalization of $298.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

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.