AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Position Lifted by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 872,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,957 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 1.3% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $154,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $213.71 on Wednesday. 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 50 day simple moving average is $189.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.73. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The company has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly 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 last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’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 value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.