Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 352,098 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,132 shares during the quarter. AbbVie makes up 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in AbbVie were worth $62,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,290,000. BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 47,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in AbbVie by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 7,922 shares of the company's stock worth $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth about $2,302,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AbbVie from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares in the company, valued at $11,183,398.72. This trade represents a 52.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,429,199.90. The trade was a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Price Performance

ABBV stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.87. The company had a trading volume of 5,742,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,091,037. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $332.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.56. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $13.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is currently 279.15%.

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.