AR Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

AR Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 1.7% of AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.64 billion, a PE ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.29. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

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.