Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 26,115 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,115 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $20,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,215,903,000 after buying an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after buying an additional 3,373,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.41.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $187.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $193.34 and its 200-day moving average is $187.23. The stock has a market cap of $332.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.31, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 279.15%.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company 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.