C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.2 %

AbbVie stock opened at $205.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.91. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James reissued 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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.