AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Acquired by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ABBV. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $205.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.95. The stock has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

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.