Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. AbbVie comprises 0.9% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $11,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,147,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,014,000 after acquiring an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 20.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 6.5% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 15.6% in the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 1.1% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 6,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock opened at $209.07 on Monday. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.58 and a 52 week high of $209.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.91. The firm has a market cap of $369.09 billion, a PE ratio of 87.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $1,143,466.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at $4,429,199.90. This represents a 20.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total value of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,439 shares of company stock valued at $11,377,057. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AbbVie from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.35.

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.