Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Trims Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 1.0% of Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in AbbVie by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 18,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,575,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.8% during the second quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. First Citizens Financial Corp grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Professional Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $187.85. 4,017,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,287,914. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.85 and a 12 month high of $199.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.16. The firm has a market cap of $331.72 billion, a PE ratio of 55.73, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.63.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 203.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $214.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Richard A. Gonzalez sold 66,500 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.52, for a total value of $12,403,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 446,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,299,645.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.