KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

KBC Group NV lessened its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,104,120 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,430 shares during the period. AbbVie accounts for 0.7% of KBC Group NV's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of AbbVie worth $231,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABBV. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 79,396 shares of the company's stock worth $14,109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AbbVie by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,912 shares of the company's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 148,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,329,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,763,000. Institutional investors own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Ryan Stewart sold 58,832 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

ABBV stock traded down $4.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.89. The company had a trading volume of 29,262,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,249,513. The firm has a market cap of $321.29 billion, a PE ratio of 77.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 44.14, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.52 and a 12 month high of $218.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $186.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.01.

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

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 279.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABBV shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AbbVie to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.29.

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.