Ariel Investments LLC Takes Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Ariel Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 151,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,966,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,144,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,586,948,000 after buying an additional 983,888 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,983,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,038,898,000 after buying an additional 778,126 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $4,459,385,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $198.62 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $351.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $196.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.25.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % 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 worth $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.41.

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.