PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 196,325 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,142,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 196,325 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of AbbVie worth $736,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.8% during the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 5,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total value of $310,032.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total transaction of $6,070,159.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock opened at $214.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.63 and its 200-day 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $215.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released 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 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 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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 $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABBV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Daiwa America cut shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.