T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 4,661,205 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 99.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,661,205 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $185.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The company has a market capitalization of $328.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.13.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.05). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 279.15%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.19.

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.