Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in AbbVie by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 18,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudock Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 2,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 4.6 %

ABBV stock traded down $7.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.62. The stock had a trading volume of 10,709,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,657,401. The company has a fifty day moving average of $174.59 and a 200 day moving average of $160.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.96 and a 1-year high of $182.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.11. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,546.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.