Waycross Partners LLC Raises Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Waycross Partners LLC lifted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,004 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,019 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 3.1% of Waycross Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $23,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,777,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,014,000 after acquiring an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 9.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 286,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,535,000 after purchasing an additional 24,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AbbVie by 106.1% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $193.00 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

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.