Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the period. AbbVie makes up 0.6% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after acquiring an additional 582,953 shares during the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of AbbVie by 486.1% in the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 676,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,531,000 after acquiring an additional 560,808 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,691,732,000 after acquiring an additional 511,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,993,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,993,000 after purchasing an additional 483,455 shares during the period. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:ABBV opened at $204.02 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $207.32. The stock has a market cap of $360.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.51.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid 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 yield of 3.22%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Daiwa America lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.35.

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.