AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,962 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 383,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,086,000 after buying an additional 23,328 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 13,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 223.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 15,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 10,947 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE ABBV opened at $184.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $326.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $194.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.21.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.41.

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.