Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,570 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 0.9% of Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $22,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $202.79 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. 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 company has a market cap of $357.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.96.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ABBV. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.