Morton Capital Management LLC CA Boosts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 0.4% of Morton Capital Management LLC CA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Morton Capital Management LLC CA’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 358,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,351,000 after buying an additional 37,368 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,480,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total value of $10,539,491.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,895,641.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total value of $3,716,756.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AbbVie stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $180.35. 5,056,429 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,701,182. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The company has a market cap of $319.34 billion, a PE ratio of 66.06, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.96 and a twelve month high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.11%.

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.