Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 52,947 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,485 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,947 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 0.5% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $29,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in AbbVie by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $209.98 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.68 billion, a PE ratio of 87.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ABBV. Bank of America upped their price objective on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Company 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.