Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Invests $2.57 Million in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,567,000. AbbVie comprises 1.9% of Criterion Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the first quarter worth $45,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the second quarter worth $38,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AbbVie by 39.5% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Up 1.1 %

AbbVie stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $166.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,532,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,933. The firm's 50 day moving average is $175.44 and its 200 day moving average is $160.19. The company has a market cap of $294.65 billion, a PE ratio of 60.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.76. AbbVie Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.96 and a 52-week high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio is currently 227.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair raised AbbVie from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on AbbVie from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on AbbVie from $188.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 5,144 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.65, for a total value of $908,687.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,546.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 383,324 shares of company stock valued at $67,780,003. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie 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.