AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Leelyn Smith LLC

Leelyn Smith LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,252 shares of the company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 26,693.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $186,431,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $214.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $378.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $191.78 and its 200-day moving average is $188.18.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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.