O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 8,525 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 222,691 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,525 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $39,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in AbbVie by 35.9% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after buying an additional 1,424,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $205.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $197.50 and its 200-day moving average is $188.95. The stock has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, 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 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 quarterly 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABBV. Bank of America lifted their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.