Cozad Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 3.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,691,732,000 after buying an additional 511,470 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 6.1% in 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 buying an additional 582,953 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in AbbVie by 4.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,642,000 after buying an additional 373,802 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.2 %

ABBV stock opened at $211.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $374.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.29, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.