Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 140 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,082 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $201.12 on Wednesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $195.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.78.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % 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, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.