United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Invests $1.65 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 9,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 5,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market cap of $355.05 billion, a PE ratio of 83.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

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 the consensus estimate 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 company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.