Zhang Financial LLC Buys 4,603 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 98.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,603 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 13.0% during the third quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 21.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after acquiring an additional 4,633 shares during the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 5.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 118,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,709,000 after acquiring an additional 6,139 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $166.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $294.67 billion, a PE ratio of 60.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.96 and a fifty-two week high of $182.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.10.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The business’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.43.

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.