Aspire Growth Partners LLC Takes $487,000 Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,459,385,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter valued at $1,190,951,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in AbbVie by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,097,375 shares of the company's stock worth $3,215,903,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466,971 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,436,133 shares of the company's stock worth $4,875,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,246,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,064,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373,156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $189.19. 1,887,192 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,076,297. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $195.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.27.

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. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 296.28%. AbbVie's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were 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 $11,183,398.72. The trade was a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 18,944 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,401.36. This represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,471 shares of company stock worth $23,426,451. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AbbVie from $211.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target (up previously from $218.00) on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.