Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 1,200 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,798 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $202.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $356.64 billion, a PE ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.29. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Leerink Partners raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.