AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Purchased by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,688 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $14,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AbbVie by 39.5% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 240.0% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. William Blair raised shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.31.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE ABBV traded up $2.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.79. 5,850,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,457,836. 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 firm has a market cap of $290.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.60, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $173.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.39. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 165.18%. The firm had revenue of $12.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 55,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.