Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 12,415 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,659 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,415 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $79,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABBV. State Street Corp increased its position in AbbVie by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,067,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,614,329,000 after buying an additional 1,267,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 3.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,630,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,691,732,000 after acquiring an additional 511,470 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,175,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 582,953 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in AbbVie by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,330,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,642,000 after purchasing an additional 373,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in AbbVie by 1,745.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,728,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,698,000 after purchasing an additional 4,471,806 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV opened at $193.00 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $341.05 billion, a PE ratio of 80.42, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $178.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.04.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its 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 257.91% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.35.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Company 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.