Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 8,443 AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AbbVie by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 216 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABBV opened at $171.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The company has a market cap of $303.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $207.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.28 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 244.01%. AbbVie’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $231.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.50.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.