Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Buys 4,681 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 131.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,251 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,681 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABBV traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $184.59. 2,637,573 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,229,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.49, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.50. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $163.52 and a one year high of $218.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.60.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.91 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 412.03% and a net margin of 7.31%. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABBV. Bank of America upped their price target on AbbVie to $204.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on AbbVie to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas raised AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at AbbVie

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.08, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 52.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.