Candriam S.C.A. Grows Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 414,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,616 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $73,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $211.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.57 billion, a PE ratio of 88.17, 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.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.