BankPlus Trust Department Invests $4.66 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 26,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,660,000. AbbVie makes up about 1.5% of BankPlus Trust Department’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,777,000. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,014,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank raised its stake in AbbVie by 8.1% during the third quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 10,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Covenant Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 1.5% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 9,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a market capitalization of $356.65 billion, a PE ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.41. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

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.