Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,961,001,000 after buying an additional 1,450,089 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,175,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,796,085,000 after buying an additional 914,485 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,936,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,269,822,000 after purchasing an additional 491,391 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in AbbVie by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,356,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,276,000 after acquiring an additional 352,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,066,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,436,000 after purchasing an additional 199,833 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded down $7.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.62. The stock had a trading volume of 10,721,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,004,945. The company has a market cap of $282.63 billion, a PE ratio of 58.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.96 and a 12-month high of $182.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.59 and its 200-day moving average is $160.74.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note 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. William Blair upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total value of $24,572,458.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 519,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,020,679.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total value of $24,572,458.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 519,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,020,679.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. 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.