AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by West Paces Advisors Inc.

West Paces Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 513 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 12.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,403,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $193.40 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.20. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 279.15%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.41.

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.