Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,734,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 371,567 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $308,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 173,072,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,754,908,000 after buying an additional 1,424,237 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,267,685 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AbbVie by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,691,732,000 after purchasing an additional 511,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $209.98 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.49 and its 200 day moving average is $188.61. 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 company has a market cap of $370.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.49, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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.