AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Shares Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 36.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,315 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,972 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $20,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABBV. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AbbVie stock traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $196.04. The stock had a trading volume of 5,120,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,078,152. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94. The firm has a market cap of $346.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. AbbVie Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.58 and a 12-month high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. AbbVie's payout ratio is 279.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.41, for a total transaction of $3,853,399.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,338,401.36. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. 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. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AbbVie from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.41.

AbbVie Company 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.