Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Has $1.15 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 7,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 98,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 43,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares in the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $45,763,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $209.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $209.60. The company has a market capitalization of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $184.42 and its 200-day moving average is $186.98.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie 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.