Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 381,976 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,090 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $59,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in AbbVie by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 64,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,519 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in AbbVie by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 66,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,357,000 after acquiring an additional 18,902 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 80,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,446,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $162.73. The stock had a trading volume of 5,834,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,663,803. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.96 and a 12 month high of $182.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $172.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.14 billion, a PE ratio of 48.29, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.05. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 165.18%. The company had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.81%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABBV. Barclays decreased their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. William Blair upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.31.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,895,641.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total value of $24,572,458.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,020,679.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,949 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $10,539,491.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,941 shares in the company, valued at $10,895,641.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Company 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.