Marco Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,026 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 2.0% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $19,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,747,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,961,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450,089 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised 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 purchasing an additional 914,485 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.3% during 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $3,034,276,000 after purchasing an additional 352,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,066,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,436,000 after acquiring an additional 199,833 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 4.6 %

ABBV stock traded down $7.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,721,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,004,945. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.90.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The business had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 183.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James increased 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research 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, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 in the last ninety days. 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.