Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 22,638 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 184,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,638 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $32,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth approximately $8,777,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,014,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 131.4% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 3,603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $203.08 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The stock has a market cap of $358.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.08 and its 200 day moving average is $186.72.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.