AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stake Lessened by Chesapeake Wealth Management

Chesapeake Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $172.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $304.67 billion, a PE ratio of 59.86, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.80.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This is a positive change from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on AbbVie from $228.00 to $208.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.50.

AbbVie 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.