Blue Chip Partners LLC Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,916 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 2.8% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $32,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 27,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,843,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $562,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $2,313,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its stake in AbbVie by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 7,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 270.0% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 272,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,373,000 after acquiring an additional 198,647 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.2 %

AbbVie stock opened at $193.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $207.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.05 billion, a PE ratio of 80.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.93 and its 200 day moving average is $186.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 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 257.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABBV has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

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.