AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 104,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,442 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for 4.7% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $18,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,951,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,401,000 after buying an additional 3,599,336 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 26,693.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,176,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,109,000 after buying an additional 1,172,362 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $186,431,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABBV. Leerink Partnrs upgraded AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $213.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market cap of $377.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.73. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.