Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,030 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,609,000 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. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 12.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,204,000 after purchasing an additional 273,078 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 1.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,403,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in AbbVie by 2.4% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $466,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $185.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $328.96 billion, a PE ratio of 77.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.23. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.05). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABBV. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.19.

About AbbVie

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.