AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 107,138 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,324 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 0.6% of Sigma Planning Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $19,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $1,623,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 7,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Element Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Bank lifted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 73,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,999,000 after purchasing an additional 6,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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. This trade 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 is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $180.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.64 billion, a PE ratio of 84.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. Research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

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.