Heritage Wealth Advisors Sells 771 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Heritage Wealth Advisors lessened its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 771 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. This trade represents a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,639 shares of company stock valued at $11,067,025. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 3.8 %

ABBV opened at $201.12 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $195.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.78. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66. The company has a market cap of $355.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

AbbVie 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.