Alesco Advisors LLC Purchases 213 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Alesco Advisors LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $209.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.91.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted 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. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.