Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $1.61 Billion Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,048,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282,571 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,607,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $796,000. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $640,000. Centric Wealth Management boosted its position in AbbVie by 87.3% during the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 18,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 8,508 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,586,948,000 after purchasing an additional 983,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,528,000 after purchasing an additional 15,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $206.08 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $198.94 and a 200-day moving average of $189.11.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Company 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.