First Command Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,807 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $203.08 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $358.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.72. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.23%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

AbbVie 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.