BankPlus Trust Department Purchases Shares of 26,224 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,660,000. AbbVie makes up approximately 1.5% of BankPlus Trust Department’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quartz Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Quartz Partners LLC now owns 8,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 5,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 113,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 43,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,685,000 after acquiring an additional 4,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.25 and its 200 day moving average is $186.41. The stock has a market cap of $356.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

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.