Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 470,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,119 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for about 1.2% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $83,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in AbbVie by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 12.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,487,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,204,000 after purchasing an additional 273,078 shares during the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter worth about $217,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the third quarter worth about $1,436,000. Finally, Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABBV opened at $201.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.66. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $153.58 and a one year high of $218.66. The firm has a market cap of $355.05 billion, a PE ratio of 83.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. AbbVie’s payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. 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 research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AbbVie to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,639 shares of company stock worth $11,067,025 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.