Holderness Investments Co. Lowers Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Holderness Investments Co. cut its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.9% of Holderness Investments Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the third quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.8 %

AbbVie stock opened at $212.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.42, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Truist Financial upped their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

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.