Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 1.0% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $26,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AbbVie by 39.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AbbVie by 459.7% in the 3rd quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 240.0% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 available through this link. In related news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE ABBV traded up $2.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.79. The stock had a trading volume of 5,850,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,457,836. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $130.96 and a one year high of $182.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James upped 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, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.31.

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.