Access Financial Services Inc. Has $1.75 Million Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Access Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,304 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.9% of Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its holdings in AbbVie by 218.4% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth $36,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in AbbVie during the second quarter worth $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 39.5% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $181.97. The stock had a trading volume of 5,418,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,696,566. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.21 billion, a PE ratio of 66.66, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. AbbVie’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.11%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 11th. HSBC downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $167.00 to $156.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.43.

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.