Echo45 Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Echo45 Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the third quarter worth $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.7 %

ABBV opened at $170.42 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $301.15 billion, a PE ratio of 59.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Argus upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Daiwa America downgraded AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.