Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Cuts Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,824 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,202,751.92. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.35.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $202.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.42. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $207.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 3.25%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.33%.

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.