Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 276,669 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 276,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,164,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $999,000. Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in AbbVie by 486.1% in the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 676,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,531,000 after acquiring an additional 560,808 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,448,000 after buying an additional 15,550 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,011,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,169,000 after buying an additional 10,768 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $213.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $189.16 and its 200-day moving average is $187.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.28 billion, a PE ratio of 89.05, 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 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In other AbbVie news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.