Aspen Investment Management Inc Reduces Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Aspen Investment Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABBV. GGM Financials LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GGM Financials LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.8% in the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the third quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 7,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 5,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $200.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $354.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $180.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.19. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32.

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 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 last year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average 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.