Sabal Trust CO Decreases Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sabal Trust CO lowered its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 219,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,692 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 2.6% of Sabal Trust CO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $45,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in AbbVie by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 179,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 119,141 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded AbbVie to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.29.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $185.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $185.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.81. The company has a market capitalization of $327.91 billion, a PE ratio of 79.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.52 and a 1-year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 412.03%. The business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 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, July 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

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.