Blankinship & Foster LLC Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,000. AbbVie makes up 0.7% of Blankinship & Foster LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during 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 during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% during the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 5,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 3.0% during the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $214.55 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $215.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.63 and a 200-day moving average of $187.59. The company has a market capitalization of $378.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 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 dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

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.