AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. trimmed its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,364 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 1st quarter worth about $646,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.3% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the first quarter valued at $41,807,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 102.8% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 62,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,417,000 after purchasing an additional 31,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 21.0% in the first quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,975 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.6 %

ABBV traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.98. 1,738,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,426,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.76. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $137.05 and a one year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 215.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.89.

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.