Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Takes $746,000 Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,064,773,000 after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,867,000 after buying an additional 1,503,875 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction 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 approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $204.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $199.66 and its 200-day moving average is $189.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $362.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. 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 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.