Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Makes New $538,000 Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in AbbVie by 11.6% during the second quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 358,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,351,000 after buying an additional 37,368 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 13.0% during the third quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 21.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 13,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.51, for a total value of $2,441,295.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,000,989.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $180.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.15 and a 200 day moving average of $157.81. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89. The stock has a market cap of $319.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.06, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. AbbVie’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.43.

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.