Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,882 shares during the quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $211.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $374.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $191.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.05.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Bank of America increased their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.