AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) SVP Sells $3,853,399.04 in Stock

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV traded up $4.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.07. 13,131,981 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,058,054. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.75 and a 200-day moving average of $186.85. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $209.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABBV. Citigroup upped their target price on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% 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.