Curran Financial Partners LLC Grows Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Curran Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,373 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the third 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. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ABBV. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.50.

AbbVie Price Performance

NYSE ABBV opened at $176.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $207.32. The stock has a market cap of $312.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.42, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $175.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.89.

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

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.78%.

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.