Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,220,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,598 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises approximately 4.1% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.07% of AbbVie worth $216,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 9,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,159 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 45,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,768,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AHL Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,961,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $171.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $175.78 and a 200 day moving average of $184.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The stock 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 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $207.32.

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

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 215.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their target price on AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of AbbVie from $226.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $215.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.