Guardian Investment Management Has $3.43 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Guardian Investment Management lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up approximately 2.8% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $3,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the third quarter worth $36,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter valued at $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $45,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.93. 2,773,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,613,529. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. The stock has a market cap of $292.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.96 and a 1 year high of $182.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.79 and a 200 day moving average of $159.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. Raymond James lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has an average 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.