Altus Wealth Group LLC Raises Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Altus Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,764 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,014,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,204,000 after acquiring an additional 273,078 shares during the period. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $211.90 on Friday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.58 and a 52-week high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $374.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.29, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $191.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. Bank of America increased their price target on AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

About AbbVie

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.