Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 940 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 1.4% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $4,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AbbVie by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,267,685 shares in the last quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 42,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,590,000 after acquiring an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 25,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after buying an additional 3,654 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABBV. Guggenheim increased their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ABBV opened at $205.12 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $197.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.91. The stock has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 $218.66.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

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.