Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys 9,765 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 139,949 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,765 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $24,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 40.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 135,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38,974 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $211.80 on Thursday. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66. The stock has a market cap of $373.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $189.84 and its 200-day moving average is $187.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,338,401.36. The trade was a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ABBV shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa America lowered AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.