Tufton Capital Management Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Tufton Capital Management raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,163 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 286 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up approximately 2.0% of Tufton Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $10,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in AbbVie by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 36,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. First American Bank increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First American Bank now owns 118,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,050,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 49,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,809,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $205.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $183.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.85. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The company has a market capitalization of $362.00 billion, a PE ratio of 85.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 period last year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Company 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.