AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 313,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,294 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $55,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $205.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. 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 $362.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.44, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partnrs raised AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

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.