Carret Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 1.0% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third 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 period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $211.19 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $372.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.00, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.06.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.