Csenge Advisory Group Purchases 12,983 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Csenge Advisory Group increased its AbbVie stake by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,983 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 36,108 shares valued at about $8.25 million.
• AbbVie reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $2.65 versus estimates of $2.59 and revenue of $15 billion, up 12.4% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy.

Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 56.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,108 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,983 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in AbbVie were worth $8,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV grew its position in AbbVie by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Weil Company Inc. boosted its stake in AbbVie by 2.3% in the third quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 2,026 shares of the company's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,321 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 473 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in AbbVie by 0.3% in the third quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the company's stock worth $3,937,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:ABBV opened at $209.57 on Tuesday. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.25 and a 1-year high of $244.81. The business's 50-day moving average price is $209.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.24, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.32.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.06. AbbVie had a negative return on equity of 576.45% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 340.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AbbVie from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.43.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $5,147,630.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,771,510. This trade represents a 36.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total value of $1,221,518.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About AbbVie

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVie's product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and women's health.

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