AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC decreased its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,926 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $24,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $201.31 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $356.11 billion, a PE ratio of 83.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $200.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.30.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 $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 3.26%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

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.