1248 Management LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $592,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in AbbVie by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the company's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 23,985 shares of the company's stock worth $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Hutner Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AbbVie by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,535,000 after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of ABBV stock traded up $5.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $198.62. The stock had a trading volume of 6,424,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,081,995. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $218.66. 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 has a market capitalization of $351.35 billion, a PE ratio of 82.76, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $196.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.23.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 279.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABBV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,183,398.72. This represents a 52.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.