AGF Management Ltd. Acquires 242,337 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,009,491 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 242,337 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises approximately 0.9% of AGF Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. AGF Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of AbbVie worth $179,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,439 shares of company stock worth $11,377,057 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV opened at $216.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $382.41 billion, a PE ratio of 90.26, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $188.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.61. 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 $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

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.