Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 2,189 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,189 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $7,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABBV. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.2%

ABBV opened at $185.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.52 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.19 and its 200 day moving average is $187.63. The stock has a market cap of $327.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. AbbVie’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 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 3.54%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.29.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.