AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,922 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,091 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $6,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $210.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $215.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.47. The firm has a market cap of $371.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.11%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.