Becker Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,252 shares of the company’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $195.15 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $345.22 billion, a PE ratio of 81.31, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $196.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.22.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.41.

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.