Sageworth Trust Co Sells 6,451 Shares of AbbVie Inc. $ABBV

Key Points

• Sageworth Trust Co cut its stake in AbbVie by 22.1%, selling 6,451 shares in the quarter and finishing with 22,710 shares valued at about $5.19 million (roughly 0.2% of its portfolio).
• AbbVie beat expectations in the most recent quarter with EPS of $2.65 versus $2.59 and $15.0 billion in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.73 (annualized $6.92, ~3.4% yield).
• Corporate insiders reduced holdings: EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares (~$5.15M) and SVP David R. Purdue sold 5,230 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.06% ownership.

Sageworth Trust Co cut its stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,710 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,451 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 0.2% of Sageworth Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Sageworth Trust Co's holdings in AbbVie were worth $5,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in AbbVie by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in AbbVie by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,706 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 11,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 91,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,944,000 after buying an additional 7,169 shares in the last quarter. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ABBV shares. DZ Bank raised shares of AbbVie from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AbbVie in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AbbVie from $270.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.90.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 22,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David Ryan Purdue sold 5,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.56, for a total transaction of $1,221,518.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,868.24. This represents a 66.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AbbVie Stock Down 0.5%

AbbVie stock opened at $205.14 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.19. The company has a market capitalization of $362.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. AbbVie Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.57 and a 52 week high of $244.81.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 5.79% and a negative return on equity of 911.57%. AbbVie's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. AbbVie's payout ratio is 340.89%.

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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