B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 17,276 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 435,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,276 shares during the quarter. AbbVie accounts for approximately 0.8% of B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $77,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in AbbVie by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $205.12 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $362.85 billion, a PE ratio of 85.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.91.

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

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank raised AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Guggenheim raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of AbbVie 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.