AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises 1.5% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $12,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the second quarter worth $202,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 38.6% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 233,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,008,000 after buying an additional 64,979 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 24.4% in the second quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 2,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 10,713.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 279,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 276,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $181.29. 1,988,684 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,442,745. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The company has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.95, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 227.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.70.

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.