AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 99.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,929,337 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP grew its position in AbbVie by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated a “hold” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $176.84 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.82 billion, a PE ratio of 73.68, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $199.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.27.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.