AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Stock Holdings Lifted by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $13,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AbbVie Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE ABBV opened at $214.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $378.75 billion, a PE ratio of 89.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $215.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given 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 3.06%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABBV shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

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.