Covenant Partners LLC Lowers Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Covenant Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up approximately 0.5% of Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.41.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $196.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $346.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.68, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $196.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.27.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie 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 transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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.