Ancora Advisors LLC Trims Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Ancora Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,328 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 1.4% of Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $62,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated 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 assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $198.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $351.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $196.14 and its 200 day moving average is $187.25. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

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.