Sit Investment Associates Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,228 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,771 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $16,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $186.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $200.61 and its 200 day moving average is $189.24. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is 273.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total value of $12,359,426.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ABBV. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AbbVie from $224.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AbbVie from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.