UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Trims Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 20.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,204,000 after purchasing an additional 273,078 shares during the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,436,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $201.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.87. The firm has a market cap of $355.13 billion, a PE ratio of 83.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Bank of America raised their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.