ProVise Management Group LLC Cuts Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

ProVise Management Group LLC decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,985 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in AbbVie by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,687,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,875 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 26,693.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $213.80 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.31. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $377.43 billion, a PE ratio of 89.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.