Trillium Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,659 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV opened at $212.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.48. The firm has a market cap of $374.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.42, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. As a group, analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.