RiverFront Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,243 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,449 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $9,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 39.5% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 459.7% during the third quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 240.0% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 4.6 %

ABBV stock traded down $7.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.62. 10,721,740 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,004,945. 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 12-month low of $130.96 and a 12-month high of $182.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays upped their target price on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Guggenheim upped 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total transaction of $24,572,458.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 519,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,020,679.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AbbVie news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,895,641.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $92,020,679.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AbbVie 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.