Vicus Capital Trims Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Vicus Capital cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter worth $8,777,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in AbbVie by 5.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 750,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,086,000 after buying an additional 40,925 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,014,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the period. HFG Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in AbbVie by 29.4% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $193.00 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $207.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.96. The company has a market capitalization of $341.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 257.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

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.