Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 252,152 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,590,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 252,152 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.15% of AbbVie worth $460,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ABBV shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Daiwa America cut AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

AbbVie Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $205.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $197.50 and a 200-day moving average of $188.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The stock has a market cap of $362.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.47, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 3.20%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. This represents a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.