Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 84,448 Shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV - Free Report) by 894.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,887 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,448 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in AbbVie were worth $17,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABBV. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AbbVie in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 21,082 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.30, for a total transaction of $3,716,756.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,855,698.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 approximately $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 383,324 shares of company stock worth $67,780,003 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

AbbVie Price Performance

Shares of AbbVie stock traded up $2.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,850,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,457,836. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie Inc. has a one year low of $130.96 and a one year high of $182.89.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $12.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.93 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 165.18%. The company's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. AbbVie's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair raised AbbVie from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on AbbVie from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on AbbVie from $195.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.31.

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.

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