Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 454.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,803 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,756 shares during the period. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $170.05 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32. The stock has a market cap of $300.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.05, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 227.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.50.

AbbVie Company 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.