AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,884,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,928 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $334,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 26,693.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after buying an additional 1,172,362 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $186,431,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,009,542,000 after acquiring an additional 582,953 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value 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. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $208.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. 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 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $215.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $185.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.14.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ABBV. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.95.

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.