Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Raises Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,197 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in AbbVie by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 26,693.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,362 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,431,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after acquiring an additional 582,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $208.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $185.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.14. The company has a market cap of $367.40 billion, a PE ratio of 86.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $215.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.